Chocolate Cinnamon Babka

For dessert on Charlotte's second birthday, Spencer decided that she would be most happy with some chocolate cinnamon babka to conclude her birthday dinner. While Charlotte isn't choosy about her carbs (and even less choosy about dessert carbs) I have to say that Spencer hit the nail on the head.

Babka is a dessert of Russian-Jewish origin made with a yeast dough that is rolled/layered with chocolate or cinnamon. Though, for this version, the chocolate and cinnamon are included together. Why be forced to choose between these two? Earlier this year, my sister and I were in NY for my grandmother's funeral (a wonderful lady of Russian-Jewish origin) and tried to decide whether we preferred the chocolate babka or the cinnamon babka that friends had brought from Susan Lawrence. I don't remember if we came to a conclusion, but I do recall how amazing they tasted.

Around this same time, I signed up to do some beta-testing, er, beta-baking, recipes for Peter Reinhart's new bread book. (My name is in the credits - buy a copy!) After completing my first 'assignment,' we were allowed to pick subsequent doughs from a list, and I was so excited to see babka! I confess, I was a bit daunted by the amount of time it took. I've made his recipe twice, and it is a two day process in our house. Or, I suppose it could be done in a single day if you don't have children, or if you strategically plan your time out of the house around the multiple rise times.

I had to keep Charlotte contained in her high chair to watch the assembly process. She was becoming a bit frantic seeing the quantity of chocolate in front of her, yet out of reach. While it was funny/sad to watch her squirm and beg "choc-o-late! cin'min! choc-o-late! cin'min!" it was wonderful to see the pure delight on her face at the end of the evening. Spencer is already starting to put some thought into what dessert he would most like for his sixth birthday later this year.

Chocolate Cinnamon Babka
Adapted from Peter Reinhart, though I'm also curious to try Martha Stewart's Babka one of these days, but am more than a bit scared by the pound of butter and more than two pounds of chocolate!

Dough
2 Tablespoons instant yeast
3/4 C milk, lukewarm
1 stick butter, room temp
6 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 egg yolks
3 1/4 C all-purpose flour
less than 1 teaspoon salt

Filling
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 stick butter, cold

Streusal Topping (optional)
1/2 all purpose flour
1/2 C brown sugar
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Sprinkle the yeast in the lukewarm milk. Stir to dissolve the yeast and set aside for about five minutes.

2. Cream the soft butter with the sugar using the paddle attachment on medium speed, until smooth. While the mixture is creaming, add the vanilla to the egg yolks and whisk lightly to break up the yolks. Slowly add the egg yolk/vanilla mixture to the sugar mixture in four installments. When all the eggs are incorporated increase the mixer to medium high speed and continue mixing for another 2 minutes, or until the mixture is fluffy. Turn off the mixer, exchange paddle for dough hook and add the flour, salt, and lukewarm milk and yeast. Reduce the speed to low and mix for approximately 2 to 3 minutes to make a soft, supple, tacky dough.

3. Dust the work surface with flour and transfer the dough. Knead the dough by hand for an additional two minutes, adding more flour, if needed, to make the dough pliable. The dough should be a beautiful golden color and feel soft and supple, “like a baby’s bottom.” Form it into a ball and place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover the top of the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and let the dough ferment at room temperature for about 2 1/2 hours. It will rise somewhat, but will not double in size.

4. While the dough is rising, prepare the chocolate cinnamon filling by grinding the frozen chocolate in a food processor until the chocolate is nearly powdered and add in the cinnamon. Cut the cold butter into 8 to 10 pieces, add it to the food processor, and pulse until the butter is evenly cut and dispersed into the chocolate mixture to make a streusel-like chocolate crumble. Set the filling aside at room temperature for later use.

5. On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll out the risen dough into a 16” square, anywhere between 1/4” and 1/8” thick. Use a metal pastry blade or a plastic bowl scraper to lift and continually dust under the dough to prevent sticking. Sprinkle the chocolate/cinnamon/butter mixture over the entire surface, breaking up any clumps so that it covers the surface of the dough evenly (leave a 1/4" border around the full perimeter without chocolate). Roll up the dough like a jelly roll log and roll the log back and forth to extend its length a few more inches.

6. For coffee cake-style, grease a bundt with spray oil, wrap the log around the tube and press the dough into the pan to connect the ends of the log. Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature for two to three hours, until the loaf fills the pan or is about 1 1/2 times larger than when first formed. You can either refrigerate it overnight at this point or proceed to baking. If holding it overnight, remove the dough from the refrigerator approximately two hours before baking to take off the chill.

7. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Poke a few holes in the top of the loaf with a toothpick to eliminate possible air pockets between the layers of chocolate and dough. Brush the top of the loaf with egg wash and top the loaf with streusel. Bake for 20 minutes and then rotate the pan and continue baking until the top is a rich dark brown. The loaf will begin to brown quickly because of the sugar, but it won’t burn, so bake until it is golden on both the top and bottom, about 50 to 60 minutes total time. The center of the loaf should register approximately 190ºF and the sides of the loaf should be a rich golden brown, not white. The loaf will sound hollow when thumped. The sides may feel soft because of the air pockets caused by the spirals. The bread will soften as it cools. Allow the bread to cool at least 90 minutes before serving—best served at room temperature after the chocolate has had time to set.

Ziti Casserole with Fresh Ricotta Cheese

Yesterday, our baby girl turned two! My goodness! Happy Birthday Charlotte! Not unlike her big brother, this girl loves to eat.  It's amazing how their likes and dislikes emerge so early - some of her favorites include fish (especially salmon,) pickles (actually, she'll eat anything pickled, not just cukes,) cheeses, tomatoes and pasta. For our family dinner celebration at home, I sat down to think about what would make our little girl happiest for her special day. Cheese, tomatoes, pasta... endless possibilites to combine these three items into something delicious. During our trip to NY last month, mom made a ziti casserole for the kids while Jim and I enjoyed a peaceful escape to the Adirondaks. She was awed, and a bit scared, by the quantity of food the two kids put away.

I also thought this would be the perfect excuse to make some fresh ricotta. While I've made mozzarella with friends on several occassions, this would be my first time to make ricotta. In my opinion, making it yourself is a bonus because organic ricotta costs $8 (!) at the store and to make it from a 1/2 gallon of organic milk costs $3. I ought to look next time I'm shopping, but I think that even regular (non-organic) ricotta cheese costs about $4. The process to make cheese is quick and straightforward - heat up milk with citric acid, wait a few minutes, separate curds from whey, and hang to drain for half an hour. Easy.

Even without making your own cheese, this recipe is easy and delicious. It was the first time I made it in our home, but will definitely be adding it in to the rotation, even when it is not for a birthday dinner. If you are interested in making cheese at home, definitely visit the cheese queen where you can order supplies.

Ziti casserole
Adapted from an old newspaper clipping which mom scanned & emailed

1 lb ziti (seems that most pasta comes in 14.5oz boxes these days, that's fine. I used penne rigate as Barrilla doesn't make a whole grain version of ziti.)
1 lb ricotta cheese (again, hidden inflation means this is probably 15oz. Or make your own ricotta using 1/2 gallon of milk.)
2 eggs
1/2 C parmesan cheese
3-4 oz mozzarella cheese, sliced or shredded
1/4 C parsley
1 qt jar pasta sauce

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Cook pasta according to directions and drain. Mix ricotta, eggs, parmesan, parsley and tomato sauce. Add cooked pasta and combine. Transfer mixture to a greased (cooking spray) casserole dish and top with mozzarella cheese. Bake for 30 minutes.

Spiced Apples & Raisins

The first time I decided to make barbecued pork ribs I wasn't sure what to serve on the side. And after some poking around on the web, I decided that the traditional complement of apples would be the perfect side for our family. Though, I underestimated how much of a hit it would be - as we finished the entire recipe at one sitting.

Stepping back and thinking about this dish objectively, it's really a dessert just masquerading as a side dish! Like apple pie without the crust. Fruit, sugar, juice... what's not to like? Use the varieties of apples best suited for pies and baking, as you definitely want these to hold their integrity and not turn into mush during the saute process. Whenever I make this now, I try to remember to buy a ridiculous amount of apples, because this goes so fast. For those who live near orchards now, or places where fresh apples are showing up at the farmers' markets, I'm quite envious.

Spiced Apples and Raisins

Adapted from Spiced Apples and Raisins

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut in thick wedges or chunks
1/3 cup raisins
1 cup white grape juice
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Pinch dry mustard
 
Melt the butter in a clean skillet over medium-low heat. Add the apples and coat in the butter; cook and stir for 8 minutes to give them some color. Toss in the raisins and add the juice, stirring to scrape up the brown bits. Stir in the brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and dry mustard; simmer for 10 minutes or until the apples break down and soften.

Pork Ribs with Barbecue Sauce

I like Martha Stewart. I really do. I was a fan before she built her massive empire and her face appeared on every media venue. Though, about a decade ago, I decided that her "Living" magazine wasn't really for me, because many of the recipes required two days! Little did I know at the time that was EXACTLY what I should have been doing, because working on a meal for that length of time with two small kids is a bit ridiculous. When "Every Day Food" appeared on the scene a couple of years ago, I knew this was for me. Plus, its own show on PBS - fantastic!

We never ate ribs growing up, so I was a bit at a loss as to how to prepare them. When in doubt, Martha has the answers. Not only did her guidance produce perfectly cooked ribs, the homemade BBQ is amazing. Seriously. I served a platter of these ribs to guests this summer and they kept coming back for more helpings.

Homemade BBQ sauce is awesome. You get to decide what goes in and (more importantly) what doesn't. This recipe makes four cups, which is more than enough and means you'll be able to store additional sauce in the fridge for next time.

Pork Ribs with Barbecue Sauce

Adapted from Every Day Food

2 slabs of baby back or pork spare ribs
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons mustard powder
3 tablespoons light-brown sugar
2 cups ketchup
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon molasses
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Season ribs all over with salt and pepper. Stack slabs on a large piece of heavy-duty foil; seal tightly, and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Cook until meat is fork-tender, about 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

Make barbecue sauce by heating oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in remaining ingredients - mustard powder, sugar, ketchup, Worcestershire, vinegar, molasses, and black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 5 to 10 minutes.

Open foil carefully and brush cooked ribs with barbecue sauce. Set oven to broil and return for 3-5 minutes so the sauce get thickened and sticky. (Or, finish ribs on the grill instead.) Remove ribs from foil, and slice using a sharp chef's knife. Serve with more sauce.

Moules Frites

I'd actually never heard of this combination until this past year (again, thank you to Throwdown with Bobby Flay.) And, mussels were one type of shellfish that I really hadn't eaten very often - when given a choice, I'd choose clams. When Jim was traveling last month, Spencer's top request during our seafood extravaganza week was clams - my version of a linguini vongole. But, they had no clams at the grocery store on Monday. Or Tuesday. Or any day that week! So, that Friday even we subsitituted and made mussels perpared in a similar style. Now time for the truth: while I fully planned to serve Moules Frites when Jim was between Brussels and Geneva, Spencer kindly asked if we could have the clams that he missed out on last month. So I obliged. But, in the spirit of the continuing Euro tour, below in the info on our mussels.

As for the frites, or fries, I don't own a deep fryer and nor do I want to own one. I do know the secret to really awesome fries is frying them twice - once at a lower heat to cook the potatoes through, and a second time at a higher temp to crisp up the outside. For me, oven roasting in the way to go for making fries at home.

Back to the mussels, the real star of the show! I think they tend to release easier from the shell than clams do, making this even more kid-friendly. A term I use for how little interaction is required on the part of an adult during mealtime. During cooking, the mussels give off their juices which combines with the wine and makes a heavenly liquid that pools in the bottom of your bowl. Wise Spencer knows this is the most amazing part of the dish. Be sure to serve with a crusty European bread to soak it up - usually I buy ciabatta, but this week I discovered a freshly-baked French batard just asking to be taken home and served with this meal.

Side note: I am continually amazed & impressed at what can be found at our local grocery store.
Side note #2: If you are anti-cooking with alcohol for your children, substitute either some seafood stock (from the soup aisle) or bottled clam juice (near canned tuna.) And when I get around to posting penne a la vodka, with a full cup of vodka, we'll talk about other substitutions.

Moules Frites
no specific source

1 lb fresh mussels, scrubbed & cleaned
2 large shallots, diced
2 cloves garlic, pressed
2/3 C white wine
2T olive oil
2T parsley

Heat oil over medium heat and sweat shallots and garlic. Add wine and reduce for a few minutes. Then, crank up heat, add all mussels at once (try to get them in an even layer) and cover the pan. After 7-8 minutes, all mussels should be opened. If not, wait another minute or two, and any that still have not opened should be discarded. Remove from heat, sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately with french fried potatoes (frites) or crusty European-style bread.

Belgian Waffles

The quest for the perfect waffle began about five years ago when Jim gave me a Belgian waffle iron for my birthday. Mom had a waffle iron when we were growing up, and I loved eating waffles on the weekends. Truthfully, who out there without a gluten intolerance doesn't? The first batch I made in the new gadget was this sweet potato waffle recipe I had recently watched on tv. While it was extremely tasty (grated orange rind is amazing in there!) a 'standard' waffle recipe still needed to be found. I eschew most mixes and prepackaged food around here, especially for something like waffles. Store-bought mixes contain basic ingredients (though sometime you can get a little something extra, like salmonella) so making from scratch barely adds any additional time.

Even though a waffle only contains simple ingredients - flour, sugar, salt, eggs, etc., the various recipes out there are not created equal. So began the quest. We had a morning of cake-y waffles. A few weeks later we had dough-y waffles. Then followed waffles that tasted like pancakes. Truthfully, I was starting to think I didn't want this new kitchen toy after all. It made terrible waffles! But then, at last, I found it! The perfect waffle recipe. It was light, buttery, with a slight crispy texture on the outside. I knew this was the right recipe before I even made the batter, as the editor talked about discovering Belgian waffles at the 1964 World's Fair in NY. My mom worked at the World's Fair that summer as a teenager, and said that was where she too first tried them. So, I felt confident that the recipe I grew up loving would be contained within. It did not disappoint! And since then, this is the only waffle recipe we have used.

As Jim's Euro week continued into Brussels, it seemed most fitting that we have Belgian waffles for dinner. Complete with strawberries and whipped crean, of course! Charlotte was a bit skeptical after being sprayed by the whipped cream (white dots on arm) but she got over herself in a hurry!

Belgian Waffles

Perfect batter recipe from Belgian Buttermilk Waffles

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups well-shaken buttermilk

3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature

2 large eggs

Vegetable oil for waffle iron

Put oven rack in middle position and put a large metal cooling rack directly on it. Preheat oven to 250°F and preheat waffle iron.

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together buttermilk, melted butter, and eggs in another bowl, then whisk into flour mixture until just combined.

Brush hot waffle iron lightly with vegetable oil and pour a slightly rounded 1/2 cup* of batter into each waffle mold. Cook waffles according to manufacturer's instructions until golden and cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer as cooked to rack in oven to keep warm, keeping waffles in 1 layer to stay crisp. Make more waffles in same manner.

*Note: all waffle irons are not the same. This recipe was listed as yielding 8 waffles, but on a good day I get 6. Use measured scoops to experiment and see how much batter to put in your waffle iron.

Mushroom Crepes

Crepes! Of course we must have crepes while Jim is in Paris! Though, it dawned on me last night that our attempt to have dinners which match Jim’s trip to Europe is actually off by a day. We had our first meal, Croque Monsieur, when he was actually still on the plane en route across the Atlantic. And last night as the kids and I sat down to eat our crepes, Jim had actually departed Paris at the end of his workday and was already in bed for the night in another country. Ah well.

I made the batter for the crepes and the mushroom filling after dinner on Monday, and have to be honest when I say how little effort the prep work required. When Tuesday rolled around to actually cook the crepes, I was fully prepared to ditch the first several as I learned how to get the right technique, but after this first one which didn’t have enough batter to coat the pan, the rest of them came out perfect. PERFECT. I’m still a bit awed. Some lessons I learned along the way: 1) my 1oz scoop was the perfect size for measuring the right amount of batter into the pan. 2) If I watched closely, I could see exactly when it was time to turn the crepe because it is so thin, the shiny batter became matte when it was ready.

Now comes the funny part. Spencer climbed into his seat while I buckled Charlotte in the high chair. On the table was a lovely pile of crepes alongside a fragrant filling of shiitake mushrooms. I looked at the two plates, and realized that I was not actually sure the proper way to combine them! I could only remember eating a crepe one time before - at the Paris hotel in Las Vegas after taking break from playing craps, which was actually taking a break from playing hockey, and that crepe was a monstrous size, filled with gooey chocolate, folded in quarters on the plate and topped with whipped cream and more chocolate. But, thinking more about it, I don’t believe I’d ever order savory crepes in my life. Now that I have lived more than half of my years in Texas (gasp) I did what came naturally – placed the filling down the middle of a crepe, rolled it up, and handed one to each kid to eat with their hands like a taco. Spencer took a bite and commented “Oh mom! Did you realize it was going to taste this good?”

For dessert, simple chocolate crepes were made by zapping mini chocolate chips on a crepe in the microwave for a few seconds before spreading with a butter knife and rolling up. Shortly, I realized that the spreading step is not necessary as rolling them mashes the warm chips just fine. I had planned to convert the remaining batter specifically for dessert purposes by adding a little sugar and vanilla, but I mistakenly mentioned that it would be for chocolate crepes, and once I said the word “chocolate” I needed to deliver the goods to the table asap!

So, it turns out that crepes are easy to make. Who knew??

Mushroom Crepes
Crepe batter recipe followed exactly, and filling inspired from Mushroom Crepe Cakes

2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour
3 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
Butter, or spray, for coating the pan

In a blender, combine all of the ingredients (excepting the butter for coating the pan) and pulse for 10 seconds. Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour. This allows the bubbles to subside so the crepes will be less likely to tear during cooking. The batter will keep for up to 48 hours.


Heat a small non-stick pan. Add butter to coat. Pour 1 ounce of batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook for 30 seconds and flip. Cook for another 10 seconds and remove to the cutting board. Lay them out flat so they can cool. Continue until all batter is gone. After they have cooled you can stack them and store in sealable plastic bags in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for up to two months. When using frozen crepes, thaw on a rack before gently peeling.

Mushroom filling:
2 tablespoon butter
1/2 lb shiitake mushroom, cleaned & chopped
1 large onion, diced
1/3 C milk
3-4 oz shredded Gruyere
salt and pepper

In a large saute pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter and sweat the onion. Add the mushrooms and additional 1 tablespoon of butter. Season with salt and pepper and cook until mushrooms are soft. Add the milk and reduce by half. Add the cheese and melt. The consistency we're looking for is similar to that of a potpie.

Note: The crepe batter recipe will yield about 20 crepes, and the amount of mushroom filling will fill about 10. Increase filling if desired, or use remaining crepes for a dessert application.