Barb Designs

Food. Life. Work.

Attack of the killer blueberries July 21, 2009

Filed under: Baking, Food — Barb @ 1:34 pm
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There’s a semi-secret blueberry farm in Dee, Oregon that has the biggest, best blueberries around. If I told you where it was, then word would spread and people would start fighting over the berries. Instead, I’ll just show photos of what you’re missing.

Early blue attack

Early blue attack

Regular blueberry v. Dee blueberry

Regular blueberry v. Dee blueberry

 

Attack of the killer cherries July 21, 2009

Filed under: Baking, Food — Barb @ 1:07 pm
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Bing cherry attack

Bing cherry attack

My friend Chris stopped by to say hi and deliver a Santa-sized sack of bing cherries. Gotta love friends who bear gifts of the edible kind.

After washing, stemming, drying and freezing two gallon bags of cherries, I was still left with tray fulls. So  made cherry almond muffins and froze two dozen. Then I tried a new recipe for cherry compote that is amazing and so easy to make.






















Syrup

Syrup

Cherry Compote

1. Boil 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of water until the syrup becomes light tan in color.

2. Add 4 cups of pitted, whole cherries. (Watch out because the mixture bubbles up and can splatter.)

Cooking cherries with balsamic vinegar

Cooking cherries with balsamic vinegar

3. Cook the cherries until they are soft and the mixture thickens.

4. Add 2-3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and cook a few minutes longer.

5. Serve the warm compote over vanilla bean ice cream and chocolate-ginger brownies if you feel like baking.

6. Store the compote in the refrigerator and warm before serving.

 

Eat Cake March 27, 2009

Filed under: Baking, Design, Dining Out, Food — Barb @ 7:04 pm
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Bakery Bar

Bakery Bar

The well-designed sign outside of Bakery Bar on Glisan and 30th says, “Eat cake.” OK, no problem. But wait, there is a problem because not only must you eat cake there, you must eat scones, muffins, breakfast sandwiches on homemade English muffins, brownies, and more. Then you can eat cake.

Bakery Bar is my new favorite place to hang out, read, work, drink a latte and listen to the great mix of music that they play. They’ve also expanded their menu to include breakfast and lunch.

Good design, good music and good food converge all in one spot.

 

Caprese salad any time of the year March 27, 2009

Filed under: Cooking, Food — Barb @ 6:51 pm
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Roasted Caprese Salad in March

Roasted Caprese Salad in March

Caprese salad isn’t a dish I normally crave in the middle of winter. Although caprese-quality Ttomatoes are usually scarce this time of year, it can be done with Romas. Yes, I said Romas—those tomatoes that are usually tasteless, gritty and unremarkable. The trick is to slow roast the tomatoes until they are sweet and concentrated.

I used Ina Garten’s recipe for Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad and was happy to taste summertime in March.

Ingredients

  • 12 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise, seeds (not cores) removed
  • 1/4 cup good olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 2 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 16 ounces fresh salted mozzarella
  • 12 fresh basil leaves, julienned

Directions

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.

Arrange the tomatoes on a sheet pan, cut sides up, in a single layer. Drizzle with 1/4 cup of olive oil and the balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with the garlic, sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Roast for 2 hours until the tomatoes are concentrated and begin to caramelize. Allow the tomatoes to cool to room temperature.

Cut the mozzarella into slices slightly less than 1/2-inch thick. If the slices of mozzarella are larger than the tomatoes, cut the mozzarella slices in half. Layer the tomatoes alternately with the mozzarella on a platter and scatter the basil on top. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Serve at room temperature.

 

Best bacon ever March 27, 2009

Filed under: Cooking, Food — Barb @ 6:26 pm
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Mmmmm...bacon

Mmmmm...bacon

A long, long time ago I was a quasi-vegetarian for about 8 years or so. Then I remembered bacon.

Heather and I got Ryan and Eric a delicious holiday gift…two nights of cooking school at In Good Taste. The class, Charcuterie 101, taught the basics of curing, smoking, salting and devouring various meats—from duck to pork belly to trout. Chef Ben Bettinger of Clyde Common (and of the future Beaker and Flask…we hope) helped his pork disciples deliver some of the best bacon I’ve ever tasted. It was think, smoky, and salty…and almost too good for words before it was devoured.

 

Cookie Fest 2008 December 14, 2008

Filed under: Baking — Barb @ 8:34 am
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Cookie Fest 2008

Cookie Fest 2008

For the last 5 years or so I’ve baked 5 different kinds of cookies for the holidays. It has always been therapeutic sprinkled with fleeting moments of stress.

This year I didn’t have time for a baking extravaganza, so I chose the simple yet divine chocolate chip cookie as the headliner. I used the trusted recipe from Jacques Torres that appeared in the New York Times months ago. The secret is lightly dipping the dough balls in sea salt or fleur de sel for a sweet and salty touch. Holiday cookies don’t have to be red or green, they just have to be delicious.

 

Found: an amazing loaf of bread December 9, 2008

Filed under: Baking, Dining Out — Barb @ 8:16 am
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Raisin Fennel Bread

Raisin Fennel Bread

Bread can be a boring vehicle for sauces, meat, cheese, jam, or it can be fabulous on its own. I found one such amazing loaf—raisin fennel bread—at Petite Provence Bakery on Division and SE 48th. It seems to be a dense pain au levain base packed with sweet raisins and licoricey fennel. It makes perfect toast with a thin layer of butter and tart jam.

The bread’s sourdough base reminds me of my favorite bread in Columbus: La Chatelaine’s au levain loaf.

 

Coq au Riesling December 7, 2008

Filed under: Cooking — Barb @ 8:20 pm
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Coq au Riesling

This dish reminds me off something my mom would make on a Sunday evening. It has down home chicken, noodles and broth but is updated with mushrooms, Riesling and leeks. I used Nigella Lawson’s recipe but added a dollop of beurre manié at the end to thicken the sauce. Use a California, cheaper Riesling to cook with and a nice bottle of German or Alsace Riesling to savor with the meal. Be sure to use skinless chicken thighs, not breasts (I don’t know why everyone loves breasts…but that’s another topic).

This is a perfect winter dish to enjoy on a Sunday evening or any day of the week.

Nigella’s Coq au Riesling

Directions

I have always loved the Alsatian version of coq au vin and this is it in a stunningly streamlined version. I replace the onion with leek, buy lardons ready cubed and buy chicken thighs. The brown meat is always best in a stew. In fact, nearly always best full stop. I don’t bother to sear the meat, which really means you need skinless portions; unbrowned chicken skin is not pretty. If you’re not buying thighs, but thigh fillets then it is probably more helpful to think in terms of boned weight, rather than number of portions: go, here, for about a kilo and a quarter/ two and three quarter pounds.






Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons garlic oil
  • 1 cup bacon lardons
  • 1 leek, finely sliced
  • 12 skinless chicken thighs or 2 3/4 pounds thigh fillets
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 10 ounces oyster mushrooms torn into strips (4 cups)
  • 1 bottle Riesling
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons freshly chopped dill leaves
  • Buttered noodles, optional

Heat the oil in a casserole or large wide pan and fry the lardons until crisp.

Add the sliced leeks and soften them with the lardons for a minute or so.

Tip in the chicken thighs, bay leaves, torn mushrooms and wine.

Season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil, cover the pan and simmer gently for an hour. Like all stews this tastes its mellowest best if you let it get cold and then reheat the next day. But it’s no hardship to eat straight off. Whichever, serve sprinkled with dill and with some buttered noodles, if using.

 

Perfect Roast Chicken December 7, 2008

Filed under: Cooking — Barb @ 10:45 am
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Even though the Food Network has a talent for taking decent TV cooks and turning them into dancing, babbling puppets à la Rachel Ray, they seem to keep their hands off Ina Garten. Ina, aka Barefoot Contessa, still seems grounded and makes simple yet elegant fare. Plus, who can resist her cute husband Jeffrey who comes home just as the cookies are coming out of the oven?

Ina’s line of baking mixes at skyrocket prices makes me cringe, however I still enjoy her staple recipes like this one for the Perfect Roast Chicken. Add any kind of vegetable to the roasting pan and they will caramelize and suck up the chicken juices.

Ingredients

  • 1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 large bunch fresh thyme, plus 20 sprigs
  • 1 lemon, halved
  • 1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
  • 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
  • 1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced
  • 4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks
  • 1 bulb of fennel, tops removed, and cut into wedges
  • Olive oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.

 

Best brownies ever December 7, 2008

Filed under: Baking — Barb @ 9:56 am
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Fudgy Brownies

Fudgy Brownies





Whenever I need a chocolate fix, I turn to my favorite brownie recipe by John Scharffenberger and Robert Steinberg. I usually have all of the ingredients on hand—the key is to stock up on Scharffenberger chocolate baking bars. When you have good chocolate on hand, you are ready for anything.




Robert’s Fudgy Brownies




Introduction

In order to achieve the crackled top and fudgy texture of classic brownies, this batter must be beaten by hand until it pulls from the sides of the bowl. This sounds like a task, but it’s not; there’s something homey and satisfying about stirring this thick, glossy batter yourself.


Ingredients

6 Tbsp. (3 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into cubes, plus more for the pan
8 oz. 70-percent bittersweet chocolate
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ tsp. salt
2 large eggs
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup toasted walnut halves (optional)


Steps

1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. Cut an 8-by-16-inch piece of parchment paper. Lightly butter an 8-by-8-by-2-inch pan and line it with the parchment, allowing it to extend evenly over the opposite sides. Butter the parchment, including the paper on the sides of the pan.
3. Place the chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl set over a pot of gently simmering water and stir occasionally until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat.
4. With a large rubber spatula or wooden spoon, beat the sugar and salt into the chocolate mixture. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the flour and mix vigorously until the batter is very glossy and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
5. Break the nuts, if using, into large pieces over the batter and fold them in.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and tap the pan bottom on the countertop to level the batter. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out moist but clean.
7. Let cool in the pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Remove the brownies from the pan using the parchment “handles,” and cool completely on the rack before cutting into 2-inch squares.


This recipe is from the book The Essence of Chocolate by John Scharffenberger and Robert Steinberg.