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Continuing the Labneh experiment from Day 139, I want to notch up the experience by working with fresh figs. I’ve never baked with this fruit in a not dried state, and I’m so glad I did. Not only are figs completely beautiful little bobbles, their meat is soft, and their skin is as delicate as their flavor.

This is technically considered a dessert, though not very sweet, and if paired with baguette and some Stilton Blue makes for a pretty memorable moment at a plate.

Enjoy…

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Roasted Figs

with Thyme, Honey, and Labneh

 

Ingredients:

• 4 fresh figs
• 4 Tablespoons honey
• 4-8 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 1/2 cup cold Labneh

 

Preheat your oven to 350°.

Crumple a piece of parchment paper in a baking pan

and spread it out within.

This will collect the honey around your fig and not let it run away…

Slice your fig crosswise, about 3/4 down, but don’t cut through the bottom.

Place them in your pan,

and gently spread them apart with your fingers, keeping the flesh in tact and and bottom connected.

Place a sprig of thyme within the slice,

drizzle a Tablespoon of honey in the center,

and roast at 350° for 20 minutes.

If you’ve strained your Labneh overnight, it will be a thick, cream cheese consistency.

Scoop them into a serving dish, dollop your Labneh on the side, and drizzle with honey drippings from the pan.

Yep.

Uh-huh.

Yes.

 

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This recipe is credited to Rukmini Iyer’s, The Middle Eastern Kitchen

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Every once in a while, I’ll come across a food whose name I do not recognize. “Labneh” is one of them. Mostly served in Middle-Eastern cuisine, it’s an EXTREMELY simple yogurt based creme that can accompany both the savory and the sweet.

I cannot tell you how something so simple can be so amazing, but it usually works that way, doesn’t it?

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Ingredients:

• 2 cups Greek whole milk yogurt
• ½ teaspoon ground sea salt
• drizzle with honey to accompany sweet dishes or olive oil to accompany savory

 

Line a strainer with a single thickness of cheesecloth and place the strainer over a bowl to catch the drippings.

Mix the yogurt and salt.

Plop them on the cheesecloth.

Pull the edges of the cloth together

and twist until some liquid starts to squeeze out.

You don’t need to wring this out, just make it snug

 

and tie with a rubber band.

 

Store it in the refrigerator while it drains.

After four hours, you’ll have something like this

that has the consistency of cream cheese.

While I have grand plans for this tomorrow, I couldn’t wait to try it, today. An impromptu snack is born:

With a sweet peach and a honey drizzle, I cannot tell you how sensuous an afternoon snack this was.

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I’m not a huge fan of ham salad. It always seems too pink and too mushy to be real food. Also, it looks like brains.

BUT, when you have 4+ pounds of frozen ham in a freezer that needs defrosting (and you’re all out of split peas), what do you make?

Ham Salad.

 

My good thing today was creating a batch that I like. I liked it so much, in fact, I ate about a cup right out of the container before I could even get it on the bread. It’s good on crackers. It’s good on sourdough, it’s good on wheat. It’s ridiculous on buttered toast, with a  fried egg.

Ham salad is officially vindicated.

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Ingredients:

• 6 cups (1 lb, 9 oz.) cooked, real ham (no deli meat)
• 1 Tablespoon spicy brown mustard
• 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
• 2/3 cup of GOOD mayonnaise*
• 1/4 cup diced dill pickles
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon thyme**
• 1/4 teaspoon rosemary**
• (salt as needed to correct flavor, but the ham is usually pretty salty on it’s own)

To correct the “mush” factor, I started by boiling the ham in just enough water to cover the meat half way up the pot. This made a drier ham with a corned beef texture and leaves you with great broth to cook rice or pasta in. It also makes going straight from the freezer super snappy.

When the ham is heated through and your broth is bubbling,

strain it out of the liquid and set it aside until it’s cooled.

Shred it.

Throw it in a bowl with the remaining ingredients.

Stir until well combined, but don’t pulverize it. (I like a drier salad, so my mayo quantity is low. Feel free to add more to your liking!)

Correct with salt and pepper as needed and chill.

 

I served this on sourdough with a side of greens, dried tart cherries, and a sharp Irish Cheddar.

 

Mmmmmmm……

…brains.

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* The taste of the mayo really comes through in this salad, so be sure to use a  quality spread that you like the taste of on it’s own. It should have a fresh, eggy tang.

**I also tried Herbs de Provence in a batch and that was delicious. Not everyone likes all the herbs in this blend, so I opted for thyme and rosemary to please more palates. If I were making it just for me though, I’d omit the thyme and rosemary and go with 1 1/4 teaspoon Herbs de Provence, all the way.

***If the salad dries out in the fridge after a day or two, refresh it with a Tablespoon of fresh mayo and a 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of yellow mustard.

Now we’re going to fill that wonderful crust you have chilling in the fridge.*

This is the first time I’ve ever actually written out a recipe for my pot pie. It’s always such a creative endeavor and rarely the same twice. In fact, a pot pie is intended to be a hodge podge of the meats and root vegetables you need to use up, but that may not be enough as a stand alone meal.

I say this to encourage you to branch out from what I’ve written here. Use turkey leftovers after thanksgiving. If you had a beef roast that no one wants to finish, substitute that for the chicken and use rutabagas rather than potatoes.

You get the idea. You are the pot pie artist.

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My Ingredients:

• 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) of salted butter
• 1 medium onion
• 2 medium or 3 small potatoes
• 2 large carrots or a handful of babies
• Rotisserie Chicken (minus the breast I used for my salad the day before…)
• 1 can or box of condensed cream of mushroom soup**
• 1 cup frozen peas
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning (not pictured)***
• salt and pepper to taste
• one recipe of the pie crust, divided into two, chilled clumps

 

Preheat your oven to 350°.

Melt your butter in a large pot over medium heat while you chop your onion

and add it to the butter, browning it while you chop the potatoes

and then the carrots.

Let this simmer in the butter on medium heat for about 10 minutes while you debone your chicken. Turn down your heat if the butter starts to burn.

The butter and root vegetables will clear as they cook. They should be cooked, but still firm and not mushy.

Add the chicken

and the condensed soup.

After that’s thoroughly heated through, add the peas and seasoning, folding gently without breaking the peas.

Do your taste testing here, and correct with salt and pepper, as needed.

Turn off the heat and let your filling cool a bit while you roll out the pie crust.

Grease and flour a deep dish pie plate.

Take one cold pie crust. When it comes out of the cling wrap it will look like this:

On a GENEROUSLY FLOURED counter surface, knead it two to three times until it looks like this:

This should not take a long time, and you don’t want to over work it or the heat from your hands will melt the butter.

Roll it out to a 12”-14” circle, flouring and turning as you go so it doesn’t stick to the counter.

Place it in your greased plate,

and fill with your yummy filling.

Roll out the top crust as you did with the bottom and place on top of the filling:

Now, pinch a seal by squeezing the top and bottom crusts together, all around your pie.

The second seal is formed by turning the edges under,

and pinching again.

It should look like this when you’re done:

To create a decorative edge, pinch and twist between your left thumb and index finger,

and press down against your thumb with your right index finger.

Cut steam vents so you don’t create a chicken pot bomb in your oven…

and brush with a whisked egg wash to make your crust shine.

Bake at 350° for 45 minutes to 1 hour, checking to ensure your crust doesn’t burn, and turning to make sure it browns evenly around. The filling should be gently bubbling through the steam vents.

This is just….

oh, man….

you just gotta try it.

 

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*If you have a frozen crust, thaw it in the fridge the night before.

**If you like a pie that has gravy oozing out, use one and a half to two cans of soup. Watch your sodium and salt as you increase soup, though. It gets salty quickly.

***A note on the poultry seasoning. I would highly recommend buying a quality organic seasoning. The “regular” seasoning is pulverized into a powder and you cannot see the individual herbs, and I don’t think the taste is as good. If you’re making a beef pot pie, try using steak seasoning (watch that it doesn’t get too salty) or just rosemary, salt and pepper.

’Tis the season for hearty fare and comfort food and ovens that emit intoxicating smells of bread and spice. I am kicking it off with my favorite fall dinner: Chicken Pot Pie.

We’re starting with the crust today. This crust is a slight variation on a Cook’s Test Kitchen recipe they used for a blueberry pie. I totally use this for sweet pies as well, and it works great. The only con is that it doesn’t hold a crisp shape like thinner, drier crusts do. It’s not ideal for lattice or detail work as it will puff up more like a pastry and lose design definition. The trade off, though, is moisture and an incredible flake that melts into butter in your mouth.

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Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cup Pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 12 Tablespoons COLD unsalted butter
• ½ cup cold shortening
• ¼ cup vodka (from the freezer)
• ¼ cup ice cold water

 (note: I’m making a double batch in the pictures, so my quantities will seem higher)

 

Put the flour, salt, and sugar in a mixing bowl,

sift them together with a whisk or the paddle attachment until they’re combined.

 

Cut the butter into 1/2” cubes

and add it to the flour mixture, along with the shortening. When you add the shortening, do so in clumps or cubes, just as you did with the butter.

 

Mix with a paddle attachment on a low/medium speed until the flour and fats cut into each other and get a cottage cheese looking crumb.

 

Turn the mixer on low and drizzle the vodka and water over the dough as it combines.

Stop as soon as it’s combined! You don’t want to over mix this or loosen the butter too much.

 

This dough will seem soft and “chunky” with butter, and that’s good – trust me.

 

Now divide the dough into two crusts. I lay out a piece of cling wrap on a scale for easier dividing, but if you don’t have a scale just eye ball it.

Plop a glob of dough into the wrap. (If you’re weighing, it should come out to 13.25 oz/ball)

 

Seal it up and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours before using. It can be refrigerated for up to three days, also, so you can make it well in advance of your meal.

 

This is an easy recipe to double. I typically freeze one set of crusts and bake the other. They can be frozen up to 2 months.

 

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…Stay tuned for the filling!
Oh, the filling…

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Two facts:

1. I LOVE good, flakey, moist, buttery shortbread.
2. I don’t LOVE anise (often associated with black licorice) but I’m challenging myself to find favorable ways to use flavors I don’t typically favor.

The combination of facts 1 and 2 made some of the most delicious cookies, ever… pair these with some Darjeeling or Irish Breakfast tea and you have a seriously tasty afternoon retreat.

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Ingredients:

• 1-1/3 cup all purpose, unbleached flour
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ cup white rice
• 6 Tablespoons salted butter
• 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup Baker’s (superfine) sugar, plus more for dusting
• ½ teaspoon Anise flavoring
• ¼ cup dried tart cherries

 

Preheat your oven to 325°.

Beat the butter and sugar

until it’s pale and creamy

add the anise and beat again.

 

Put your rice in a blender or food processor

and pulverize it until it’s quite fine.

And we still need to sift it.

The rice doesn’t cook to a soft texture, so if you don’t get the large clumps of rice out you’ll swear your teeth are going to break. That does not make for an enjoyable cookie.

You can test to make sure it’s fine enough by chewing a little bit. It should “pop” as you chew but not resemble eating a rock.

 

Mix your flour, ground rice, and salt in a bowl

Chop your cherries

and add them to the dry ingredients.

Coat them well in the flour mixture

and add the cherries and flour to the creamed butter and sugar. Stop as soon as it’s combined.

Switch to hand stirring

and then palm it together to make a ball.

You can spread it into a greased 9” flat circle on a cookie sheet, or I use an 8” cake pan.

Flatten it down as best you can

and then switch to a rolling pin or the back of a flat metal cup to smooth the top.

Poke holes in whatever design you like (this is the only way to prevent the shortbread from rising and bubbling so don’t skip this.)

Slice into 12 servings

and bake for 35 minutes, until it’s a golden pale and the edges are just starting to brown.

as soon as it comes out of the oven, sprinkle the top with more fine sugar

wait for five minutes and re-cut your slices.

Let it cool completely.

Gently lift them onto a serving platter.*

These are seriously SO good. The anise is definitely not overpowering but you can detect it and it balances like a trapeze artist with the cherries. Yum. Black jelly beans, here I come…

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*To remove your shortbread from a deep cake pan as I have used, I place a small piece of cardboard on top of the shortbread, turn them upside down (fully supported on the cardboard), place a plate over them while they’re still upside down and then invert, right-side up.

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To me, the best part of Indian food is the Naan. Scooping up rice and sauce and meat in a hot, garlicky, salty, soft, fried bread and eating with your fingers is absolutely one of the best pleasures in life. And I’m going to show you how to make a killer version in your kitchen.

Ingredients*:

• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 cups (10 oz.) all purpose flour (plus more for rolling)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 Tablespoons sour cream
• 1 Tablespoon whole milk (not pictured)
• 2 Tablespoons garlic olive oil (or regular if you prefer)
• Ghee (clarified butter)
• corse sea salt

This recipe will yield 6 large naan and will take about 5 hours total. These are best served the same day or frozen and reheated. I always make a double batch and have them frozen for future meals.

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in 3/4 cup warm water and let it sit until it becomes frothy (about 10 minutes)

While you wait, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder into a large bowl.

Combine your sour cream and milk:

When the yeast looks like this:

add the yogurt mixture and the olive oil to it and gently whisk.

pour this over the flour mixture and gently fold with a wooden spoon.

Once the flour is coated,

switch to hand mixing. (I’m totally sure you can do this with a paddle, but this is the traditional method and I feel like I’m cheating if I use the machine…)

I mix (with my right hand) and throw a little flour in here and there (with my left) if it’s just too wet.

mmmmmmm….. goop.

as soon as it’s combined well, stop kneading.

Place it in a bowl, cover with oiled plastic wrap or a damp flour sack cloth and leave it to rise 2-4 hours.

If you’re cooking the rest of the meal from scratch, now is when you’d make your main dishes (to be kept warm on a low simmer) while you make the fresh naan.

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Four hours later…

Definitely should have used a larger bowl.

Yeast-splosion. Love it.

Get a station set up with a bowl of flour, a bowl of water, your ground sea salt, melted ghee, and a rolling pin.

On a well-dusted surface, flop the dough out

and divide it into 6 even clumps (I’m making a double batch, here).

roll each section in flour to keep it from sticking and set it aside.

Roll each ball into a 8”- 9” teardrop. I use a rolling pin at first and then stretch and lift the dough with my hands.**

Okay, get your ready hats on, put the dog outside, and read the rest of the instructions 12 times, cause this is going to go fast and you’ll swear you’re going to burn the house down or set off every fire alarm in it. And you might. But the naan will be good. Stay the course.

With a large cast iron skillet on medium high/high heat, get it almost smoking.

Get your hands wet, pick up a rolled out naan and slap it between your hands like you’re playing “hot potato” to get the surface damp. Lay it in the skillet. Count to 60. The dough should start to bubble.

Flip it. Cover it. Count to 30.

Remove the naan, brush with melted ghee, and sprinkle with corse sea salt.

Repeat until all the naan are done. ***

Yes, yes, yes, this was good.

 

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*Other traditional ingredients to add  (if you’re so inclined) would be kalonji or nigella seeds, fennel seeds, minced garlic, and/or onion flakes.
**If you run out of counter space, wax paper is your friend. Just lay a sheet on top of each rolled piece of naan to keep them from sticking together.
*** This will take about 15 minutes, so I throw my cooked naan on a cookie sheet in the oven set to 175°-200°.

Afterword:

I have cooked Indian food completely from scratch only three times in my life. When done according to traditional methods, I have found it to be more challenging and more of a time investment than a thanksgiving dinner for 14. I’m guessing there are some short cuts or advance prep that I’m not privy to, but I tenaciously try again when I’m feeling the curry-yearn. Seriously, next time you have AWESOME Indian food, be sure to hug the chef. They earned it.

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…’cause no kidding, that was THE LARGEST zucchini I’ve ever found in a box.

I made TWO batches of the Zucchini Bread with Fig and Pecans and still had two pounds of uncut zucchini left over. I find these over-circumferenced left overs to be a bit of a personal challenge; mostly because I don’t truly LOVE zucchini. I dared myself to make something that I want to eat.

We’ve had enough sweet with the bread, so let’s go for savory this time…

Take the mammoth green thing and slice it:

 

Spread it out on a cookie sheet, drizzle it generously with olive oil, and sprinkle it with kosher salt, black pepper, and onion powder.

(for as watery as zucchini is, I was shocked at how well it sucks the oil up like a sponge. This made it great for grilling, because the oils seeped out in the heat and prevented any sticking…)

While that sits, heat the grill to medium heat (around 300º-400º), and mix up a baste in a small bowl. You’ll need about 3 Tablespoons of olive oil, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper.

Move on over to the grill and lay your zucchini (oiled side down) on the heated grill.

Before closing the lid, baste the top sides with your olive oil mixture

Then close the lid and grill for 4-5 minutes.

While they’re grilling, chop up half a red pepper, mince three cloves of garlic and throw them in the basting dish, soaking up the remaining oil and seasoning.

Go back the the grill and flip your zucchini with a wide, metal spatula.

Scoop a spoonful of the pepper and garlic mix on top

and close the lid for another 5 minutes. This softens the pepper and garlic, but still keeps the flavor fresh as on bruschetta.

While you’re waiting, slice up some fresh mozzarella… it’s getting good now.

After 5 minutes, the zucchini should be crisping at the skin and nicely heated, but still sturdy enough to remove with a spatula. Move them on a serving tray and immediately top with the mozzarella.

For serving, I drizzled a bit more olive oil and sea salt on the top.

It was actually pretty tasty! I totally ate this! I feel like Popeye the Sailor Man.

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Trial and Error Notes:

• I also tried this with a variety of vinegars (white, balsamic, and rice) to see if they improved the taste. I’ve got to say, “nope.” Zucchini is such a delicate flavor and the red pepper gives enough sweet. The vinegar totally overpowered the balance. Stick with olive oil and salt.
• Because these zucchini slices were so large, the seedy centers got soggier than I’d have liked for formal serving. If you have the option, choose a zucchini with a little less girth.
• If your zucchini centers are a bit sturdier, I’d recommend closing the grill for another minute with the mozzarella on. I wanted a little more melt, so the textures would blend more evenly, with the red pepper still providing a crunch.

Ingredients by list:

• 2 pounds zucchini
• 4-5 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ red pepper, chopped into ¼” cubes
• 3 minced garlic cloves
• fresh mozzarella cheese, chopped into ½” cubes
• olive oil and sea salt for garnish

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’Tis the season for random boxes left outside church doors, with big FREE signs on them, and overflowing with 5 and 6 pound crook-necked zucchini. I am the grateful recipient of one said zucchini as I failed to plant any myself this year.

Now, zucchini should be about a pound (at most) when harvested, or they get pithy and the flavor is not as good. The seeds get to be like pumpkins and the meat gets a weird spongey texture. Not so good to cook with…

BUT!

A huge zucchini still makes a mighty fine bread.

 

This is an original recipe I created to retain the easily lost flavor of zucchini, but still make a sweet morning bread that rocks a cup of coffee like no one’s business. I included pecans and figs to make a hearty texture, and some cardamom and brown sugar to deepen the tastes.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound zucchini (trimmed)
• 2 cups unbleached, all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon allspice
• ¾ teaspoon cardamom (not pictured)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ½ Tablespoon honey
• 1/8 cup milk (not pictured)
• 1/8 cup sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 6 Tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
• ½ cup pecans
• ¾ cup Smyrna figs

 

Preheat your oven to 350°

Grease a 8 ½” x 4 ½”, or 9 ½” x 3 ½” loaf pan and set aside.

Shred the zucchini by quartering the zucchini lengthwise, and grating it crosswise. I cheat and use a grater attachment on a food processor. Time is money.

Lay a paper towel in the bottom of a colander. Put the zucchini on top and press it down with another paper towel on top. Keep doing this until you get most of the water out. It will still feel wet, which is good, but not weeping. Set it aside.

Toast your pecans. Lay the whole pecans on a cookie sheet and bake for 5 minutes at 350° and then broil at 500° (in the middle of the oven) for two minutes. Watch them, they burn quickly. Then set them aside to cool.

Whisk your flour, soda, powder, salt, cinnamon, allspice, and cardamom in a medium bowl.

In your mixing bowl, combine your sugars, melted butter, eggs, milk, sour cream and honey.

and mix until they’re thoroughly combined.

Gently fold in the flour mixture and the zucchini to the egg mixture. Don’t over mix this, just fold.

Chop your figs and nuts and fold those in.

Scrape the batter into your pan

and bake at 350° for an hour. Check it by inserting a metal skewer (or a knife) after baking. It should come out clean or with a few crumbs. If the batter is still wet, give it another 10 minutes and then check it every 2 minutes thereafter.

This is SO GOOD! Thank you church ladies, for your overgrown, wayward zucchini, thank you.

 

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Ever since I was a kid, my favorite Christmas cookie has been a Russian Tea Cake (sometimes called Mexican Wedding Cake). While the occasional “Sprinkled Santa” and “Ginger-Ninja-Bread Man” will momentarily lure me, I always return to a cup of spicy black tea and one of those powdered-sugar-covered biscuits. I consider it a mid-winter morning ritual until they’re gone.

As it’s mid-summer and we’re no where near Christmas, I’m challenging myself to make a seasonal variation. Inspired by flavors of the Middle-East, I rebelliously break free from staunchly held “cookie identities,” and give you:

Persian Tea Cakes

with Rosewater, Pistachio, and Cardamom

 

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• ½ teaspoon rosewater (+1/8 teaspoon if you like a more pronounced flavor)
• 2 ¼ cup all purpose unbleached flour
• ¾ cup shelled pistachios
• ½ teaspoon cardamom
• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper (not pictured)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• powdered sugar for dusting

 

preheat your oven to 400°

 

cream the butter and sugar together

add the rosewater and cream until light and fluffy

smash the pistachios into small bits:

 

and stir them in the butter along with the flour, cardamom, white pepper, and salt

mix it until it forms a paste

roll a tablespoon of the dough in your hands to form a lovely little ball

and place it on an un-greased, unlined cookie sheet

bake at 400° for 11-14 minutes and remove before they begin to brown

when they’re still warm to the touch, roll them in powdered sugar

after they’ve cooled, roll them in powdered sugar again until they have a nice coating*

These are DELICIOUS!!! The delicacy of the flavors makes you savor each bite and find the distinction of tastes gradually. Rest assured, the rose water is subtle enough that not one of my kids complained of being fed soap for dessert. Triple points.

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*(don’t skip the second roll to reduce sugar or some such sillyness – the rose water balances better with the extra sweetness and if you’re trying to cutback on sugar, I remind you, you’re eating a cookie….)