Garlic Parmesan Popovers

This has not turned out to be the weekend I thought it would be. My beloved kitten, Huxley, had jumped off the bed and hit his back paw wrong and then refused to walk. He's had little sprains like this before but as he's getting up there (9! Yikes) I figured we should rule out anything bad. So that night it was off to the vet.

$528 later they had ruled out any diabetes, kidney, liver, worms, ticks/fleas, upper respiratory, hydration problems and most importantly, paw issues (not even a sprain, better than I expected). Which was a relief. And the vet was amazing. I was also in and out in less than an hour, which helped stress levels for both myself and the Hux. My goodness though... I was not expecting that kind of bill. But this is what savings is for, right? And so, for the next 2 months I'm pretty much broke. Which pretty much put my weekend plans on immediate hold.

Roasted Banana Brown Butter Muffins

Pane all'Olive... or in English, Olive Loaf

Hawaiian Breeze and Apple Cinnamon. The leftover candles I promised my Mom I would have on hand for the hurricane. The only candles I could find as the store was nearly cleaned out. And that's what my apartment smells like right now, as the cool wind blows through my windows after the storm. Well that, and fresh baked bread. Fresh baked olive loaf bread. The other staple that stores were cleaned out of this weekend. But that was no matter to me, because I can bake my own. And this was the perfect excuse to do so on this quiet, and yet anxious weekend.

After the second rise

I knew I was going to make bread and I knew I didn't want to make the same old no knead that's been my go to. With virtually no plans to go anywhere and most of my to do list foiled by the advent of Irene, I wanted to branch out and do something different. And perusing Jim Lahey's book (aka my bread bible) I stumbled almost right away on olive loaf. So perfect too, considering I had made a seemingly terrible last minute purchase a few weeks back of some cured Moroccan olives that I had promptly forgotten in the back of my fridge and now needed to use sooner rather than later.

Brioche French Toast with Bourbon (of course)

Lately I've been wrapping my head so much around summer and diets and learning how to put foods away- like preserving and canning, not like arranging pantry items-, it's been a while since I had a true indulgence. No, I'm not talking about my shore weekend that consisted of drinking and eating more calories than I care to divulge. I mean a true, luxurious indulgence... like a brioche french toast, the thick egg-y and buttery slices of bread dipped in a sweetly spiced custard with that lovely smokey kick of bourbon. The outside browned just so, with a slight crunch and the inside melting and moist, like the best kind of bread pudding but for breakfast.

So this weekend, in need of something sweet and lovely and wonderful to start the day I made brioche french toast for the birthday girl and her boyfriend before we went out to watch some baseball. This breakfast was the perfect start to a wonderful day.

Second Best Baked Good

After pie dough that is, but I think because the making of the 2 are so similar... the desired fat and flour crumb consistency, just enough liquid, the necessity for the fat to be as chilled as possible before and after combining. That'd be the cheddar chive biscuit, from BLT Fish. I figured since I just mentioned it, and turned down one straight from the source, the least I could do is give you the recipe, right?

One thing Laurent Tourondel has excelled at (or perhaps more correctly, his pastry chef's) is the unique baked goods served at his restaurants. I was in love at first bite with the cheddar chive biscuits and bought a popover pan after having his gruyere popovers at BLT Prime. He's also so nice to give you a little recipe card, gratis, along with the baked treats. And it was through this that I was able to make and eventually perfect my biscuit making skills.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Maybe not quite as much as Boston or Chicago but New Yorkers definitely know how to party for St. Patty's Day. I work on a street with a few major Irish bars that are usually a first stop for most of the b&t New Jersey and Long Islander's coming off the trains at Penn. While making my lunch (a sad little vegan burger) 6 floors up I could hear all the revelry below, even bag pipes (aren't those Scottish? Does it matter today?), carried up. To top it off it is absolutely beautiful today, sunny, 60, not a cloud in the sky. Perfect to be out celebrating. But alas work calls and I cannot get away... at least not until 4p when my work is having a happy hour in the office. Did I mention I work at one of the best places ever or at least in New York City?

Today, even in the office with everyone scrambling to get 2Q ready, it looks so festive with most everyone in their green, some having even taken it to an extreme (our lone guy assistant in a green seersucker jacket for one) and another co-worker brought in some Irish Soda Bread, which I wish I could enjoy but she assured me there were definitely eggs, butter and milk in it. Sad day for vegans.

Did you say there's a flamingo in that cake?

Officially checked off my list of life and things to make is the King Cake. Yes, that pastry that epitomizes Mardi Gras, New Orleans, debauchery, etc. That giant cinnamon bun monstrosity, the cake that really does take a day to make. There's scalding, rising, kneading, rolling, and icing involved over what ended up being an 8 hour time frame. Granted, while the rising was taking place there were not a lot of other things to do- besides make ceviche- so it's not like a slaving over the stove cake. But was it worth it? Well, let's just say even my vegan friends gave in and tried it at the anti-S.A.D. party, and said it was worth cheating.

King Cakes are another pastry of European descent. Associated with the festival of Epiphany in Europe and with Carnival in Brazil, in the U.S. they're most typically linked to Mardi Gras. Named for the biblical 3 Kings, New Orleans King Cake Parties started by French and Spanish immigrants in the Louisiana area are documented back to the eighteenth century. The most traditional New Orleans style King Cake is made with a bread similar to Brioche, stuffed with a mixture similar to a cinnamon roll and twisted into a ring. Iced and then topped with the Mardi Gras colors of gold, green and purple. Gold to represent power, green for faith and purple for justice.

The Texas Breakfast

This morning we were all being just typical Texas lazy, watching the sun make the day warmer from the safety of the central air inside, sipping our coffee and generally just contemplating life. My very dear friend mentioned that she was hungry and I seconded which is when the best idea occurred. "Kolaches?" asked very dear friend's husband. "Yes please" we both chimed together.

If you aren't familiar, kolaches are a semi-sweet dough, traditionally filled with dried fruit, poppy seeds, or cream cheese. Less traditional versions (i.e. the delicious bastardization we get from Shipley's) are filled with cheese, ham, sausage, etc. They came over to the states from Czech immigrants, a number of whom settled in Texas and Oklahoma and started up bakeries with kolaches fast becoming a breakfast treat, but back in Europe these pastries were reserved as a wedding dessert.

I have a crush on you...

Coming home tonight the only thing I could think about was bread. Crispy, crunchy, soft, chewy bread. I'm not sure why. But the thought of carbs after a long day just seemed so comforting, homey. And the smell of freshly baked bread wafting through my apartment was not an idea I could pass up after the chill today.

I was specifically craving flatbread, liberally sprinkled with some flaky sea salt and rosemary. Cut in strips and dipped in olive oil with some fresh cracked pepper. And even though I ended up making a normal meat and veggie supper with a tasty cranberry horseradish sauce (and yes, that's sooo good... recipe soon)... it ended up becoming tomorrows lunch. Because, happily, the bread was my dinner.

Nicely browned on top, a little puffy. Crispy on the outside and so deliciously chewy on the inside.

Za'atar Spiced Flatbread

There's something wonderful about having family and friends over for a Friday night dinner in the dead of winter. The work week done, the last forced journey into the cold over, a long relaxing weekend to look forward to and the people you love gathering around your table, talking and laughing with not a care in the world. It was extra special because my sister had just returned from Jordan so we were all regaled with stories and pictures and as she is my sister and my blogging mentor, all kinds of goodies of the culinary sort.

My Jordanian presents: 2 za'atars, tea, thyme, sage and saffron

 One of the many goodies came in the form of Za'atar- a Mediterranean spice mixture that can vary in ingredients but most commonly contains sesame seeds, sumac, thyme, oregano, etc. Other herbs can be added or spices, to make it sweet or spicy. I was given 2 different kinds, the Jordanian "premium" za'atar (not sure what was in it to make it distinctively premium) which was very delicious and then a "spicy" za'atar, which was actually not that spicy in terms of heat but did contain a smokey kick that reminded me of a smoked paprika or mild chili powder.