My love of rhubarb is no secret around here. There are almost 10 rhubarb recipes on this site. I eat rhubarb all year long. I must resort to frozen for 11 months, but then, in late May, fresh local rhubarb arrives in Ottawa and I can be found squealing with joy at the market. When rhubarb is this pretty, it deserves to be tied up with a bow.
Rhubarb is one of those polarizing ingredients. Most people either love it ot hate it. I think the haters object to the sourness and stringy texture. The key is to add just enough sugar so that edge is taken off, and you avoid that mouth puckering astringency. I find that baking the rhubarb in the oven helps to melt the rhubarb down into a silky smooth texture.
Pairing the rhubarb with other ingredients and flavours can also help to convert those haters. Strawberries and rhubarb are a classic pairing. I added some ginger for a bit of zing. It’s a surprisingly delicious flavour combo.
The pastry for these hand pies is most unusual. Created by cookbook author Abby Dodge, it uses browned butter and eggs. The browned butter adds a gorgeous nutty flavour. The eggs make the texture of the dough more like a cookie than a pie crust.
A sprinkling of coarse turbinado sugar adds sweetness and crunch.
Last week I had a craving for Chicken Marbella. If you are of a certain vintage, you will know exactly the dish I am talking about. Created, in 1982, by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins, of The Silver Palate fame, Chicken Marbella appeared at every dinner party I ever attended in the 80’s. Chockful of prunes, olives and capers, it was considered very “gourmet” and a bit exotic for the times.
I pulled out my well-worn cookbook, and read through the recipe, to make sure I had all the ingredients. I was shocked to disover that it called for adding a 1/2 cup of brown sugar to the marinade! Clearly my tastebuds (as well as my skin) have matured since the 80’s. I would never consider adding that much sugar to a chicken marinade today. This dish clearly needed a reboot.
I ditched the brown sugar for a modest amount of honey, just 2 Tablespoons. Instead of dried prunes, I opted for dried apricots for their vibrant colour and dried cherries, for their tart flavour. I kept the olives and capers, and, while I was searching for the capers, I saw a jar of sun-dried tomatoes, another blast from my past, lurking in the back of my fridge. Sun-dried tomatoes were ubiquitous in the 80’s and 90’s. We overused them and they became shunned by chefs everywhere. But, in defense of sun-dried tomatoes, when used sparingly, they can add a certain savory sweetness that is welcome in many braised dishes.
To boost the flavour profile further, I added anchovy paste (an umami bomb) and a generous pinch of Aleppo pepper for some heat.
This reboot did not disappoint. Packed with flavour and not too sweet, it satisfied my craving. Sometimes you can go back again!
This month my blog turns 10 years old!I fell into blogging purely by accident. Check out my very first post, if you’re curious about how it all got started.
Blogging consistently, once a week, for 10 years, takes a certain level of committment and discipline. I have always been a fairly disciplined person, so consistency came fairly easily to me. But I think that the reason I have stayed with this for so long, is that this creative process continued to excite and challenge me. I found myself curious to learn and become more skilled in all the disciplines that food blogging involves. Plus, I love having an excuse to buy lots of beautiful dishes and other props.
One of the nicest, but unexpected, things that happened was the loyal following that I developed. I am so grateful for you guys! I love hearing from you, telling me what worked and what didn’t. You keep me honest and let me know when I screw up or make typos in the recipe. It’s like having an editor for free! I get so excited when you tell me that you had guests for dinner and everything you made was from saltandserenity! It’s like virtually attending your dinner parties. (And if you know me, I always prefer to be a virtual guest!)
If you think about it, food bloggers are essentially doing the job of 4 different professionals – cook/baker, food stylist, photographer, and recipe writer. I have always been a very slow and methodical learner and have made many blunders along the way. But, as my sister Jody is fond of saying, “mistakes are how we learn.” It was almost a year before I figured out that taking photos in my kitchen, with the overhead lights on, was causing a horrible yellow cast on all my images. Some of us learn more quickly than others!
To celebrate 10 years of blogging, I wanted to bake a beautiful statuesque cake. I started with the classic white layer cake from “The Perfect Cake” cookbook by America’s Test Kitchen. This book is a wonderful resource, whether you’re a novice or have been baking for years. This cake is the perfect backdrop for so many different flavours. It has a soft fine crumb and bakes up tall and light. I was envisioning an ombre cake, with shades of pink and purple. My first attempt looked like a bad bridesmaid’s dress. I used gel food colouring and the shades looked so artificial.
I decided to go the natural route and use blackberries to tint my buttercream. I mashed up some blackberries and cooked them with a bit of sugar and lemon juice. Then I strained the seeds and used the purée to colour my buttercream. But you need to be careful adding liquid to buttercream. Too much and the buttercream becomes too soft. I wasn’t able to get that vibrant blackberry colour or flavour I had in mind.
Macarons (not to be confused with macaroons) have a reputation for being difficult to make. Essentially, a macaron is made from ground almonds, powdered sugar and egg whites. Seems simple enough but so much can go wrong. They are a tricky little cookie. If you overmix, or undermix, fail to measure correctly, overbake or underbake you won’t get the pretty frilly “feet” or smooth surface. You need to pay attention to every step of the process. The best way to become proficient at macaron making is to make them often. Since I only make macarons once a year, at Passover, I have not become proficient.
Some years they turn out perfectly, other years, they are cracked and hollow. They always taste delicious, no one complains and they all get eaten, but it bothered me that I couldn’t get consistent results. I am in charge of desserts at our family Passover Seders. That’s dessert for 45 people on the first night at my sister-in-law’s house (my husband’s side of the family) and 36 guests at my mom’s house on the second night.
As I was planning what to bake and going through my cookbooks for inspiration, I noticed a little book on my shelf titled, “Secrets of Macarons”. I think it was a gift, but I had never read it. I was curious to see what French chef, Jose Marechal, had to say about this little diva of a cookie.
I made a startling discovery. Apparently there are two methods by which macarons can be created, the French meringue method and the Italian meringue method. In the Italian method, the sugar is boiled into a syrup, and once it reaches 240°F, it is carefully incorporated into the egg whites. In the French method, the raw sugar is added into the egg whites. I had only ever tried the French method. While on the surface it would seem that the French method is simpler, no dealing with candy thermometers and boiling hot syrup, you need to consider the benefits of that extra step of boiling the sugar. Cooking the sugar into a syrup creates a more stable macaron batter.
Marechal explains the science behind the Italian method. “Since the sugar is incorporated in the form of a syrup, it disperses into the beaten egg whites well, puffing them up while evaporating some moisture. Since the Italian meringue has a denser consistency, it is easier to incorporate into the almond paste. It has a less brittle structure and the macaronage (working the batter) is more manageable.”
I was curious to see if the Italian meringue method would give me more consistent results. I made 6 batches of macarons over 2 days. (Two batches each of these Robin’s Egg, two batches of salted caramel macarons and two batches of PB&J macarons). Every batch came out almost perfectly. No hollow shells, no cracked tops and lovely frilly feet.
Although the Italian method involves the additional step of cooking the sugar, the consistent results are worth it. If you’re a macaron newbie, take the extra step and boil your sugar. You’ll thank me!
As I was scrolling through Instagram on Sunday I was mesmerized by an @thefeedfeed video for blackberry coconut macaroons. They did a collaboration with Driscoll’s Berries. I thought I was already done with my Passover baking, but apparently not! I had to make these macaroons. I deciced to make mine with raspberries instead of blackberries. The macaroon batter is simple to make and you don’t even need to bust out the stand mixer. I used my hand held mixer, but a whisk and some muscle will also work.
I have started writing my recipes using weights rather than measurements. I think that will give you more accurate results. If you don’t already have a kitchen scale (and if you have ever been to Weight Watchers, you must still have one lurking in a dark cupboard somewhere!), do yourself a favour and get one.
The addition of tart raspberries is a welcome addition to macaroons, as traditionally they can be cloyingly sweet. Plus, that pink colour is pretty fabulous. A dip and drizzle of some bittersweet chocolate makes for a very pretty cookie.
Montreal baker and cookbook author Marcy Goldman is the originator of Matzoh Crunch. The recipe is published in her first cookbook, “A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking”. Matzoh crunch is essentially a layer of matzoh covered in brown sugar-butter caramel and topped with a blanket of melted dark chocolate.
This is my adaptation of her recipe. I have elevated matzoh crunch to the next level, by piping a decorative topping of white, milk and blonde chocolate. It looks fancy but it’s quite simple to do.
As with anything you bake, if you start with top quality ingredients, you will yield a better outcome. Most recipes I have seen for matzoh crunch call for melted chocolate chips as the top layer. The problem is that chocolate chips are not formulated to melt smoothly. They contain less cocoa butter so that they hold their shape. This is great for chocolate chip cookies, but not so great when you want a velvety smooth coating. So start with a good quality chocolate that is meant for melting. I love Valrhona. I order it online from Vanilla Food Company.
Blonde chocolate, is a more recent addition to the chocolate family. It is essentially caramelized white chocolate. You could make your own, or buy Valrhona’s which is marketed under “Dulcey“. This is not a Valrhona sponsored post, I just really love their chocolate!
If there were ever a dish that could convince me to become a vegetarian, this would be the one! Eating this dish did not leave me feeling deprived of anything. Every bite was satisfying and left me craving for more.
When I saw this beauty at the market, I knew she had to come home with me. This is a Romanesco cauliflower. (I have also seen it called Romanesco Broccoli). It’s crunchier than regular cauliflower with a more delicate and nutty flavour profile. Romanesco is essentially an edible fibonacci spiral. Linda at Garden Betty, does an excellent job explaining that last sentence. Mother Nature is really showing off all her glory here. Each tiny peaked floret is an identical but smaller version of the entire head.
I decided to showcase Romanesco’s delicate flavour by roasting it. Slice the head into thick planks. Little bits will fall off as you are slicing. Just put them in the center of the sheet pan to protect them from burning. Olive oil, salt and pepper and a hot oven are all it takes to turn them golden brown and delicious.
I was on the phone with my big sister Faith, the day I was making this. I told her I was planning to top the romanesco with toasted Panko breadcrumbs, capers and almonds. She suggested adding golden raisins to the mix. Brilliant idea Faith! Every bite offers a perfect blance of flavour and texture. Sweet, salty, crunchy, creamy and nutty. If you can’t find Romanesco, just use regular cauliflower of broccoli. It will be equally delicious.
If you read the title of this post and wondered what the heck sorghum is, you’re not alone. Most people have never heard of this super grain. It’s an ancient grain, like 8000 BCE ancient, originally grown in southern Egypt. This small grain has a mild, nutty flavour, with a chewy texture similar to wheat berries. It’s a nutritional powerhouse, boasting a high level of antioxidants, which help to boost your immune system protecting it against certain diseases, including cancer. Sorghum is high in fibre which is beneficial to your digestive health. And if that’s not enough, it also happens to be gluten-free.
Sorghum is an extremely versatile grain. It can be ground into a flour as an addition to a gluten-free flour blend. Because of its high protein content it provides the baked good with structure and stability. Of all the gluten free flours, sorghum tastes the closest to wheat.
Sorghum can be made into a molasses-like syrup, used for sweetening baked goods and drinks. It’s quite popular in the southern U.S. it can also be popped in oil, similar to corn. I haven’t tried that yet, but I’m excited to give it a go.
A traditional tabbouleh is made with bulgar (cracked wheat), which is quite small in size and slightly fluffy in texture. I really loved it with sorghum. The hearty flavour and chewy texture added some heft to this salad. This is quite a flexible recipe. Feel free to add whatever looks good at the market that day. I used little sweet tomatoes and green onions. Pomegranate seeds and toasted pistachios added crunch and a little pop of colour. The one ingredient that is not negotiable is herbs, and lots of them. Parsley and mint are the classic choice.
A big squeeze of fresh lemon juice, a drizzle of good olive oil and lots of salt and pepper, and you’ve got a great salad.
It’s been almost two weeks since I last posted. Lest you think I was slacking off, please be assured that I have been hard at work perfecting the babkala for you. While this mashup is not quite as well known as the cronut, it is most assuredly very delicious. I do believe that making 8 loaves of babkala in 10 days, qualifies me as something of an expert on the subject. With each attempt, I tweaked the recipe just a bit to improve it. I had many eager taste testers to help me on my journey. I do believe that my UPS delivery man has a bit of a crush on me now.
A traditional babka is made with a brioche dough, which is essentially a sweet yeast dough enriched with butter and eggs. I decided to forgo the brioche dough and just used my regular challah dough instead. I rolled out the challah dough and blanketed it with a buttery brown sugar and cinnamon spread and dotted it with raisins. The dough was rolled up, sliced and then twisted into loaves.
While some consider a cinnamon babka to be the lesser babka, I respectfully disagree. But if you must, you could fill yours with chocolate. I won’t judge. This is not really meant to be a Friday night challah. It’s more of a breakfast or brunch treat for a Saturday or Sunday morning. Or even a Tuesday afternoon. I have sampled it almost every day of the week, and trust me when I say it’s always amazing.
Rhubarb lovers, get excited. I’ve figured out a way to cram their awesomeness into a hamentashen. If you’re like my husband, you’ll think that’s sacreligious and a waste of good hamentashen dough. If you’re a traditionalist and looking for old school hamentashen, check out my last post, “Aunt Carol’s Hamentashen.” For the rest of you, read on!
These are tender little triangles of almond shortbread dough, crammed full of a tangy-sweet strawberry-rhubarb compote and crowned with an oatmeal streusel topping. As Ina would say, “How bad could that be ?”
I know that my family would prefer if I would just make traditional hamentashen and not mess around with perfection, but they gently humour me because they love me and know that I’m a food blogger who just can’t seem to leave well enough alone. They lived through Cinnamon Bun Hamentashen, Maple Pecan Hamentashen, Salted Caramel Apple Hamentashenand Dried Cherry and Pecan Hamentashen.There was also an epic fail in 2012 when we tried to make Hershey’s Kisses Hamentashen. No need to dwell on that mess.
I fell hard in love with these hamentashen. I think you will too!
