green salad + cilantro lime vinaigrette

i should be going to bed, but i'm not doing it.
my head feels clear. i've really been liking kiwi lately.

i made this green salad and totally ran with the theme. GREEN.
green things that i love include avocado. kiwi. pistachios. cilantro. lime. lettuces.
these things are better for my skin and bones than cookies.

aw but i love cookies.
shut up.

green is good. i need green. green balances out cookies. green doesn't make me sugar crash.

this salad is simple but oddly exciting. maybe it's the color theme. definitely the color theme.
the cilantro lime vinaigrette wakes everything up.
and kiwi is really just the most magnificent, all those crunchy pretty seeds.
i am proud to call this lunch.

epilogue:
if someone asked me to describe my writing style, would schizophrenic be an appropriate answer?
probably yes.

Green Salad with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

fresh lettuces

1 kiwi, skin removed and sliced thin

avocado, sliced

pistachio nuts, toasted

juice of 2-3 limes (about 1/4 cup)

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

4 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 tsp honey

3/4 cup olive oil

3/4-1 cup cilantro, roughly chopped

to make vinaigrette: combine lime juice, vinegar, garlic, salt, and honey in the bowl of a food processor or blender. blend until ingredients are completely combined. with the blade running, add in the oil in a steady stream. then add the cilantro and pulse a few more times until its broken down and all combined. taste and adjust to your liking. 

assemble all components of salad in a bowl and toss with dressing. yum greenz. 

marmalade tart

the secret to being a bore is to tell everything.
-voltaire

the citrus can do all the talking today.

Marmalade Tart

from the Big Sur Bakery Cookbook

*recipe measurements makes a 10x14 inch rectangle tart, i made two smaller ones pressed into tart pans

3/4 cup unblanched almonds

for the tart dough:

1 1/2 cups cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

grated zest of an orange

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tbsp plus 1 1/2 tsp orange juice

for almond cream:

6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp almond extract

grated zest of 1 orange

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 egg, beaten

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

to assemble tart:

1 cup orange marmalade (or apricot jam)

2-3 citrus fruits

sugar

1 tbsp unsalted butter

preheat oven to 350 degreesF. 

scatter almonds on a cookie sheet and toast in oven until they are golden through the center, about 10 minutes. remove from oven, and let them cool completely. then finely chop the almonds by hand or in a food processor and set aside. 

for the tart dough: combine the butter cubes with the flour, sugar, salt, and zest in a bowl and place in the freezer for 30 minutes. 

 using the paddle attachment on an electric mixer, mix the chilled mixture until it's very crumbly. add orange juice and continue to mix until dough comes together. turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 2 minutes. flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least half an hour. can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. 

while the dough chills make almond cream: in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, powdered sugar, almond extract, orange zest, and salt until the mixture is light and fluffy. add the beaten egg a little bit at a time, mixing until incorporated. then add the flour and mix well. use a rubber spatula to fold in the chopped almonds - the cream itself should be smooth, but the almonds will make it look chunky like peanut butter. reserve the almond cream at room temperature until ready to use. 

increase oven temperature to 375 degreesF. 

remove tart dough from the refrigerator and roll it out over a generously floured countertop until its 1/4 inch thick. for a freeform tart, cut out a 12x16 inch rectangle with a pairing knife (or cut to fit whatever tart pan you prefer). gather the excess dough into a ball, flatten into a disk, wrap, and reserve for another use. spread marmalade evenly over the dough and then, spread the almond cream over the marmalade, leaving a 1 inch border if making the freeform tart and then fold over the edges. if you use a tart pan like i've pictured, there's no need to leave a border or fold the edges. place the tart in the refrigerator for half an hour. 

while the tart chills, prepare the citrus. cut off both ends of the fruit with a sharp knife. place the citrus on the cutting board cut side down, and following the curve of the fruit, shave off the rind from top to bottom. then cut crosswise into 1/4 inh thick rounds. 

remove tart from the refrigerator and arrange the citrus circles over the almond cream, placing close together. sprinkle sugar over the entire tart, going heavier on the dough edges. dot the citrus rounds with the butter to prevent burning, and bake for 40-45 minutes, until the almond cream and the crust are golden brown. let it cool for at least 15 minutes. 

serve warm or at room temperature with a dollop of whipped cream. 

coffee cookie dough ice cream

this is coffee cookie dough ice cream.
coffee cookie dough ice cream is as absurdly good as it should be. it is success.

steep coffee beans in milk for an hour.
make a little batch of cookie dough sans eggs.
coffee milk turns to custard with the help of egg yolks.
custard gets amped up with pinches of vanilla and ground coffee.

custard gets spun into ice cream. cookie dough chunks are folded in.
brace yourself, spoons.

meeting adjourned. ice cream achurned.
ha,

that was bad.

if i were the smartest, i would just start making vats of cookie dough ice cream and selling it out of my squeaky garage.
great, my life is all figured out now.

Coffee Cookie Dough Ice Cream

adapted from the perfect scoop by dave leibovitz

for the ice cream:

1 1/2 cups whole milk

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups whole coffee beans

pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

5 large egg yolks

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp finely ground coffee

for the cookie dough:

5 tbsp salted butter, melted 

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup flour

1 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup mini chocolate chips

to make the cookie dough, stir together the butter and sugar in a bowl until smooth. stir in the flour, then vanilla and chocolate chips. form dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until firm. 

to make the ice cream, warm the milk, sugar, whole coffee beans, salt, and 1/2 cup of cream in a medium saucepan. once the mixture is warm, cover, remove from heat, and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour. 

rewarm the coffee milk mixture. pour the remaining 1 cup of cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. in a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. slowly pour the warm coffee mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan. 

stir the mixture constanly over medium low heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. press on the coffee beans in the strainer to extract as much of the coffee flavor as possible, then discard the beans. mix in the vanilla extract and the ground coffee and stir until cool over an ice bath. 

chill mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. 

freeze according to ice cream maker's instruction. when it's about done, break the cookie dough into chunks and drop in. 

store in the freezer. 

buttermilk chive biscuits + black pepper brown butter

one day out of the week there will be no bacon, and no cheddar.
but there can still be biscuits.

sometimes, i just need the biscuits all to myself.

one of the good parts about making 300 biscuits a day is that making a normal home-sized batch feels like the quickest easiest thing.

biscuit making is all about the method.
mix up dry. cut in butter. fold in just enough buttermilk for a dough to come together.
there is no need for buttermilk measuring.

southern grandmas, you better watch your back. i'm coming at you with black pepper and bench scraper hands.

chive biscuits, plain and simple.
such a nice change of biscuit pace.

and black pepper brown butter. whoa yes.
brown butter, stirred with a little honey, salt, and lots of coarse black pepper.
i can get real down with this stuff.

bend over to the front, touch your toes, smack that ass up and down and get low. (get low)

Buttermilk Chive Biscuits + Black Pepper Brown Butter

adapted from bon appetit

3 cups all-purpose flour

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp chopped chives

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes

buttermilk, about 1-1 1/4 cups

preheat oven to 400 degreesF. combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt and mix together well. mix in chives. using one or two bench scrapers, a pastry cutter or your fingertips, cut the butter into the dry mix until it resembles a coarse meal and butter chunks are around the size of a hazelnut. create a well in the center of the dry mix and pour in  buttermilk. stir until dough just comes together and is evenly moistened. either pat into a disk, about 1 1/2 inches tall and stamp out rounds using a biscuit cutter, or simply scoop 1/4 cups of dough onto a baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart. brush with a little buttermilk and bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. cool slightly and serve. 

Black Pepper Brown Butter

from Keys to the Kitchen by Aida Mollenkamp. do you have this book? you should have this book

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

melt the butter in a small frying pan over medium heat. cook swirling the pan to ensure it cooks evenly, until the butter turns a nut brown color, about 5 minutes. immediately remove from heat, transfer to a bowl, and stir in the honey, salt, and pepper and set aside to cool to room temperature. 

almond citrus pancakes + happy new year!

oh hey.

so this is it.
the holiday season came on strong, slapped us in the face, and now it's all over.
there are zero sticks of butter in the house. there's a lot of ribbon. i'm getting maple syrup on my keyboard. help.

but hey, happy new year.
not to get all mo on you, but i'm feeling good about this year so far.

i'm pressing my wet hair on my face and it feels good, i'm in my couchspot, i'm eating pancakes with my hands, i'm making lists.
so alright 2013, looking good, no complaints about you thus far.

oh what? pancakes?
mmmmhhmm. almond orange pancakes. they bring morning happiness.

i also made a wintery mix of some tunes on repeat lately. i love every one.

let's make this year good. let's be a little less hard on ourselves. let's appreciate the things we have a little more. let's try to love harder. let's jump in the ocean in our clothes. and let's remember it all.

so happy new year my leetle darlings, whether you come here often or have just stumbled here now, thank you and i love you. may this year be the best of the best.

[only one she's all that reference has been embedded in this post.]

Almond Orange Pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tbsp sugar

pinch salt

1 egg

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

juice of 1-2 oranges, a scant 1/4 cup

zest of 2 oranges

1/2 tsp almond emulsion or extract

toasted almonds

combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. in another bowl combine the egg, buttermilk, butter, orange juice, zest, and almond extract. add the dry ingredients to the wet and whisk to combine. small lumps are totally ok. 

heat a griddle over medium-low heat. melt a little butter to grease pan. cook til nice and golden, about 2 minutes on each side. serve right away with powdered sugar toasted almonds and maple syrup.