Cinnamon Nuts with Dried Fruit

Bittman's new cookbook reminded me of a favorite recipe in another of his cookbooks. It takes about 20 minutes total, including preheating time, and is totally worth it. I like to throw in some high-quality chocolate chips for a real treat!

I have used peanut oil and vegetable oil. The nut oil does impart more flavor, but storage is trickier because it goes rancid faster. I keep the peanut oil in the fridge--but then have to remember to take it out in enough time so it is totally liquid. (I have placed the bottle in front of the vents for the preheating oven, but that can melt the bottle!) Other nut oils would be good, I'm sure, but they tend to be more expensive. Vegetable oil works just fine, too.

spiced almonds with dried cherries

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Cinnamon Nuts with Dried Fruit

Source: Food Matters by Mark Bittman
Yields 6 c nut mixture

4 c raw, whole almonds
1/4 c vegetable or nut oil
2 c dried fruit (my favorites are cherries, cranberries, or apricots)
1 teas cinnamon
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 450F. Place the nuts on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with oil, and toss well until evenly coated. Roast, shaking the pan occasionally, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

Transfer the warm nuts to a bowl. Add the fruit and cinnamon, then salt to taste. Cool briefly then serve. Store in an airtight container.

Note: This recipe has many successful variations. The one above is my favorite, but you can use any combination of raw, shelled nuts or seeds as well as a number of herbs or spices. Bittman suggests 2 T minced fresh rosemary, 2 teas ground cumin, a pinch or so of cayenne pepper, 1 teas ground cardamom, or 1/2 teas ground nutmeg or cloves in exchange for the cinnamon above. Also, you can play with the ratio of fruit to nuts. I used dried cherries in my latest batch, and people kept eating the cherries out of the mix, so next time I'll add maybe an extra cup of cherries.

Baeckoffe

During our five years in Europe, we lived in Belgium and Germany, both within easy reach of the city Strasbourg, a lovely French city on the Rhine River. When we visited the whole family loved to eat a dish, similar to my Mom's pot roast (but better) baked in a decorated clay pot. Since I had purchased a few of the pots, I tried to imitate the dish at home. This was long before easy access to recipes online and cookbooks were hard to come by so my efforts, though appreciated and eaten, weren't authentic. In later years I found a recipe that has served as a guide and taught me to add some white wine to the marinade (which really does improve the flavor).

Apparently Baeckoffe is an old dish that got its name because home cooks would bring their pots to be cooked in the residual heat in local bakery ovens after a day's baking had finished. It is homey, satisfying, and unpretentious.

One of the coldest days I spent in those years was in this Alsatian region, a day late in December. We visited the town of Colmar a bit south of Strasbourg and our destination was an unheated old stone cathedral serving as an art museum. It was cold inside and out and even with six layers on, I was uncomfortably cold until we ate dinner. Sitting down to a steaming hot Baeckoffe was just about as good as it comes. This is a true winter-time comfort food to me because it reminds me of days when meals with my kids weren't rare and because it is just plain great to eat.

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Baeckoffe

I found this years ago on the internet and didn't keep record of the source.

Serves 4

There is no need to strictly follow this recipe; use it as a guide. I usually add more meat, more potatoes, and throw in some carrots. Lamb is hard for me to come by so I rarely use it. I also cook it longer at a lower temperature (3-4 hours at 275F). This can be cooked in a covered casserole or roasting pan and it can be tinkered with as far as proportions and ingredients are concerned. (I've seen this with green beans and have eaten a seafood Baeckoffe. A recent internet search turned up one that includes bacon--haven't tried that yet.)

1/2 lb pork shoulder

1/2 lb boneless lamb shoulder

1 lb lean beef chuck

1/2 teas fresh thyme leaves or 1/4 teas dried thyme

1 clove garlic, minced

1 T chopped parsley

1/2 teas salt, or to taste

1/4 teas fresh ground pepper, plus 6 cracked peppercorns

2 c Alsatian Sylvaner or Riesling wine (a Sauvignon Blanc can be substituted)

1 T butter

4 large onions, sliced

4 large potatoes, sliced

3-4 carrots, optional but very good, cut in sticks about half an inch by 3 inches

4 bay leaves

Cut meat into 3-inch chunks and place in a large bowl. Add the herbs, garlic, and cracked peppercorns. Pour wine over the mixture and marinate overnight. Remove meat from marinade. Season with additional salt and pepper.

Heat oven to 325F. Butter the inside of a 3-quart earthenware casserole. Begin with a layer of potatoes, carrots, and onions (season each layer with salt and pepper), then add a layer of combined meats. Continue alternating layers, finishing with a layer of potatoes. Pour marinade over all, place the bay leaves on top, and cover the pot. Bake for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Baked Cod with Cherry Tomatoes and Chickpeas

This is a great recipe to use when you've got an abundance of cherry tomatoes and also in the winter when grape tomatoes are the only decent variety in grocery stores. I haven't tried it, but I imagine that another type of bean could be substituted for those who don't care for chickpeas; cannellini beans for example.

 

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Baked Cod with Cherry Tomatoes and Chickpeas

Source:  The Make-Ahead Cook:  8 Smart Strategies for Dinner Tonight

Serves: 4

3 T olive oil
2 teas ground coriander
2 teas paprika
1/8 teas cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
4 (6-8 oz) skinless cod fillets, 1-1/2 inches thick
2 (14-oz) cans chickpeas, rinsed
12 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 c chicken broth
2 shallots, minced
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 T grated lemon zest plus 1 T lemon juice

garnishes: 2 T extra-virgin olive oil and 2 T chopped cilantro

Combine 2 T olive oil, 1 teas coriander, 1 teas paprika, cayenne, and 3/4 teas salt. Rub the cod evenly with the mixture and place in a ziplock bag or an airtight container to marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour or up to 24, turning and flipping cod occasionally to ensure even marination.

Combine chickpeas, tomatoes, broth, shallots, garlic, lemon zest and juice, remaining T olive oil, remaining teaspoons of coriander and paprika in a 9X13 baking dish. Cover, place in the refrigerator and allow to marinate for the same amount of time as the cod.

To finish:  Place oven rack in middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Season chickpea mixture with 1/2 teas salt and 1/4 teas pepper. Nestle cod into chickpea mixture and bake until cod flakes apart when gently prodded with paring knife and registers 140 degrees, about 20-24 minutes. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with cilantro to serve.

Squash au Gratin with Toasted Nuts

Creamy and flavorful, with a satisfyingly crunchy top. Note that the gratin is better fresh, and not as good left over. I may try to halve it next time, and use the remaining squash in another way.

Also, I see this mostly as a vegetable side, but Bittman suggests that paired with a green salad and some crusty bread it would make a light meal.

You'll notice that Bittman repeats amounts of ingredients in the recipe instructions. This saves a little bit of time since you don't have to check back at the ingredient list.

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Squash au Gratin with Toasted Nuts

Source: How to Cook Everything Fast by Mark Bittman
Yields a 9x13 pan of thin gratin

1 large butternut or other winter squash (2-2.5 lbs)
3 sprigs fresh sage or 1 1/2 teas dried
2 T olive oil
salt and pepper
1 c cream
1 c hazelnuts, pecans, or pistachios
4 oz Parmesan cheese (1 c grated)

Heat the oven to 450F.

Cut the squash in half crosswise, trim and peel it, scoop out and discard the seeds, and cut it into chunks. Shred the squash in a food processor with a grating disk (by far the easier method) or by hand with a box grater. Chop the sage leaves, if you're using fresh sage.

Put the squash in a 9x13-inch baking dish. Add the sage, 2 T olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper; toss and spread in an even layer. Pour 1 c cream over the top.

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake until the squash is tender and the cream is bubbly and thick, 15-20 minutes. Chop 1 c nuts. Grate 1 c Parmesan.

When the squash is tender, uncover the dish, sprinkle the cheese over the top, and sprinkle with the nuts. Return to the oven and bake, uncovered, until the top is lightly browned, about 5 min or more. Let cool for 1-2 minutes before serving.

"Mise en Place" and Mark Bittman

Not long ago I came across Mark Bittman's recent cover story in Time Magazine, "The Truth About Home Cooking." His goal in the article is to encourage more people to cook at home, since it's healthier and can be cheaper. Bittman claims that cooking shows and instagram streams--and I would add cooking blogs!--have made a fetish of food. We now think that if we cook and eat at home, it must be fancy food that takes hours to prepare. He says we should dial back those expectations for everyday eating--and that it is still possible to end up with delicious (and healthy) food. As part of the article Bittman offers a meals' worth of quick, easy recipes to help you get started, even if you feel like you don't know how to cook.

His new cookbook How to Cook Everything Fast continues this argument, and provides many strategies and recipes for cooking quickly at home. He debunks the myth of "mise en place" in home cooking--the principle of prepping all the ingredients before you start cooking. You know, those nifty bowls of chopped or already measured ingredients that are laid out magically in cooking shows. At a restaurant mise en place makes sense, but at home I find that it just adds time. Bittman says experienced cooks learn to prep as they go naturally, but his new cookbook actually incorporates the prep work into the recipe. (Of course it's always important to read the recipe all the way through, to make sure you don't get started without having an essential ingredient, or that you have to refrigerate overnight, but reading is different than prepping!)

A page from How to Cook Everything Fast, with the prep work in blue.

So much of Bittman's approach really resonates with me, as the main cook for a growing family. Meals that take a long time have their place, but what I always need more of are quick simple meals that taste good. I firmly believe in the importance of home cooking, for health, environmental, and social reasons. Yet I'm also raising 2.5 children right now, work part-time outside the home, and have volunteer obligations, so there's a lot on my metaphorical plate--I don't have time to cook for hours every day.

My lovely husband gave me How to Cook Everything Fast for Christmas, and I've been trying about one recipe a day. They're so approachable it's been easy. (And I am getting absolutely no kickback from highlighting this cookbook, so my motives are honest!) So you will start to see a lot of Bittman recipes from me. I don't usually make New Year's resolutions, but in 2015 I'm looking forward to lots of good, fast cooking. And of course, delicious eating around the family table.

High Altitude Sugar Cookies

My boys adore decorating cookies. Last year we did gingerbread cookies, and used some frosting gel stuff I bought at the grocery store. The combination of the gel and gingerbread tasted gross, so I decided to try sugar cookies this year. (And homemade icing.)

Once I figured out that it's easier to bake the cookies on the same parchment paper that you cut them out on, the recipe worked very well for our purposes. I actually don't love sugar cookies to eat--I prefer chewy cookies with some sort of chocolate--but they cooked up nicely and the boys love them.

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High Altitude Sugar Cookies

for approximately 5,000 feet above sea level

Source: Pie in the Sky: Successful Baking at High Altitudes by Susan G. Purdy
Yields about 50 cookies, depending on the size

12 T (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 c sugar
2 eggs
2 teas vanilla or almond extract
2 3/4 c all-purpose flour
3/4 teas baking powder
1 teas salt

Place oven racks so the oven is divided into thirds. Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream the butter and sugar until well blended. Beat in the eggs and vanilla, scraping down the bowl a a couple of times. Sift the dry ingredients into the egg mixture, then beat either with a sturdy spoon or the mixer on the lowest speed. Form the dough into a ball. If it feels too sticky, add 1-2 more T flour. (I didn't do this, and wish I had.)

Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes. This step isn't absolutely necessary, nor is refrigerating each time you roll out the dough, but it does make the dough easier to manage.

Remove one third of the dough and leave the rest in the fridge. Spray a cookie-sheet sized piece of parchment paper with cooking spray. Use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll out the dough on the parchment paper, until it's about 1/8 of an inch thick. Dip the cookie cutters in flour to prevent sticking, and then cut out shapes. Leave 1/2-3/4 inch between cookies. Use the tip of a knife to help lift and peel away the between-cookie pieces, and leave the cookies on the parchment. Slide the parchment paper with the cookies onto a cookie sheet. Gather the dough scraps, place back in the fridge, and remove the next bunch of dough to roll out. Repeat as needed.

Bake the cookies for 8-12 minutes, until they look slightly golden around the edges. Slide the parchment paper off of the cookie sheet onto a cooling rack to cool.

If using icing: mix the icing as the cookies cool. Spread icing on cookies with a butter knife, or place some of each color in a plastic bag, seal the top of the bag, and cut a tiny hole in one corner of each bag with scissors. Squeeze the icing out of the hole to decorate as desired. Leave the cookies on the racks to air-dry the icing. When the icing is hard, store the cookies in an airtight container, separated by layers of wax paper.

Another decorating option: brush each cookie with some egg glaze, and sprinkle with finely chopped nuts, cinnamon, or sugar. Egg white is clear, and the whole egg results in a golden color. To make the glaze, mix beaten egg white or whole egg with 1 teas water.

Sugar Cookie Icing

Source: Pie in the Sky: Successful Baking at High Altitudes by Susan G. Purdy
Yields 3/4 c

2 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 c sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teas vanilla extract or fresh lemon juice
2-3 T milk or water, as needed
Food coloring, optional

Combine the butter, sifted sugar, and vanilla or lemon juice in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Add enough milk or water a drop at a time to make the icing smooth enough to spread. Cover the icing when it's not being used, with plastic wrap or a clean,wet washcloth.

Layered Coconut Cookie Bars (or Pie)

For Thanksgiving I often make one apple cranberry pie and then try something new. This year I tried these cookie bars. At first I thought they were too sweet, even after switching the chocolate to dark instead of semi-sweet, but then they grew on me and they were popular with one of the littles in the household. They were a hit at a small family gathering, too! Also, I swear these get better after sitting a day or two.

I didn't make any high altitude adjustments, and I didn't notice any problems.

the last slice

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Layered Coconut Cookie Bars (or Pie)

Source: Half Baked Harvest
Yields a 9x13 pan or 2 "pies"

1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 teas salt
3 teas vanilla extract, divided
2 1/2 c all-purpose flour (I used half white whole-wheat flour)
1 teas water
1 (13.5 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
4 T salted butter
1/3 c maple syrup
1 1/2 c roughly chopped walnuts (or pecans)
1 1/2 c shredded coconut (I used sweetened because that's the only thing I can find; I may try it with unsweetened coconut flakes next time)
2 c dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x13 pan or 2 pie plates with parchment paper allowing the side to hang over the dish.

In a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, combine the unsalted butter, brown sugar, salt, and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Using a mixer beat the mixture until it is smooth, scraping down the sides a few times. Add the flour and water, and beat until combined.

Press the dough into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until the crust is lightly golden; remove from oven.

Meanwhile, make the "caramel" sauce. Heat salted butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat until lightly toasted, about 3 minutes. Add the sweetened condensed milk and maple syrup. Cook the sauce over low heat for 8-10 minute, stirring often to prevent the caramel from burning and sticking to the pan. Cook until it thickens slightly and turns light golden in color. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Sprinkle the top of the cookie base with chocolate chips. Next, sprinkle on the nuts and 1 cup shredded coconut. Pour the "caramel" over top of everything in an even layer. If needed, use a spoon to gently spread the caramel. Sprinkle the top with the remaining coconut. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top is beginning to brown and caramelize. Serve either warm or cool.