Today I wrote my 2012 gift guide for cooks, tackling the new modernist cooking trend. It includes a link to my review of the original “modernist cuisine” book set, as well as links to various bits of recommended equipment, in both more expensive and less expensive versions. We plan to play around with the “at home” version of the book set this vacation, so hopefully I’ll be able to review that soon.

Now that that’s done…

New reviews:

Sorry for the long time with no new posts! I was having medication problems and the like. I’m back to posting regular book reviews (along with occasional reviews of other things like the Scooba 230 floor washing robot or the Roomba 790 vacuuming robot).

Handmade bookmarks and more:

I also have a bunch of nifty handmade beaded bookmarks for sale at my bonanza booth, where you’ll also find hair sticks, necklaces, and so forth. Glittery, shiny gift fun!

Gourmet hot chocolates:

In that long-ago last post I said I’d come back and say a few words about the various gourmet hot chocolates we tried out. So, here you go.

• Godiva Dark Chocolate Hot Cocoa was hands-down our favorite for straight hot cocoa. It has a nice, complex taste—not too heavy, not too light. It dissolves extremely well in milk. It’s expensive, but for a real treat it’s hard to beat.
• Bellagio’s Caffe D? Amore Gourmet Cocoa Mix has a dark, heavy taste, and it doesn’t dissolve easily. It does however have a very good use: in frozen blender drinks. I highly recommend blending some ice cream (optional), milk, a frozen banana or two, a few ice cubes, and a spoonful or two of this stuff together. (Also optional: Bailey’s Irish Cream.) When blended it mixes in just fine, and the heavy taste means you don’t need as much to flavor a frozen drink.
• Stephen’s Gourmet Hot Cocoa (the dark chocolate flavor) was… okay. It’s kind of like an expensive version of Swiss Miss, with the sharp artificial cocoa flavors. If that’s what you’re in the mood for it’s great, but it isn’t really what I’m looking for when I buy the good stuff.
• Moonstruck Chocolate Dark Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix was, like the Bellagio/Caffe D’Amore, rather one-note in flavor, although it was super-smooth in texture. Since it’s really too expensive to use in frozen drinks, and not as good in hot drinks as the Godiva, it didn’t entirely work out despite being very good.

Ultimately, the Godiva is best for hot cocoa, and the Bellagio/Cafe D’Amore is best for frozen drinks. I hope that helps you find the right chocolate for your favorite chocoholic this holiday season!

I know companies would probably worry about having their products lumped in with someone else’s, and would think they’d be undercutting themselves. However, I think it would have the opposite effect. I think if people could try out small amounts of these more expensive chocolates, they’d be more willing to try something besides the usual Nestle or Ghirardelli. And then once they’ve tried out the new chocolates they might well buy more. Buyers win; sellers win.

Anyway, I ended up getting primarily dark chocolate cocoas, from Godiva, Moonstruck Chocolate, Steven’s, and Bellagio. I’ll try to remember to come back later and say what we thought of them.

• Include a bit of flour (1/4 cup or thereabouts) mixed in at the beginning, possibly tossed with the meat before browning it (assuming you plan to brown it first).
• Leave the lid off and let it cook down. These suggestions were obviously written by people who don’t use slow-cookers and aren’t aware that you don’t use them that way. Keeping the lid on is essential to the ambient heat that builds up and cooks the food. So don’t do this. This is why you don’t normally add as much liquid to slow-cooker recipes in the first place.
• Include mashed potato flakes or at least diced starchy potatoes for thickening.

However, not a single person addressed being able to thicken it at the end. The assumption seemed to be that you really couldn’t do that. Well, that’s all well and good when you remember the flour at the beginning, but when you’re improvising, and you haven’t had your coffee yet, all does not necessarily go as planned.

So here’s what we did, and it not only worked, it worked amazingly well. This was for a stew that occupied more than half of a six-quart crockpot and had a fair amount of liquid; adjust as needed for other amounts.*

About half an hour before the crockpot is due to finish, briefly lift the lid long enough to ladle out roughly two cups of hot liquid; this should leave some liquid remaining in the crock pot. Re-lid. If it isn’t already over high heat, turn it to high heat. (Note that if you have it on a short cycle, such as 4 hours on high heat, you should wait until it’s finished the cycle so you don’t let the heat out early; just turn it back on to high for the extra half-hour.)

Melt four tablespoons of butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour. Keep whisking as it bubbles, smooths out, and thickens; you want to go for long enough to cook off a bit of the flour taste, but you also don’t want this to get too dark. Maybe a minute, but it’ll depend somewhat on just how hot your burner is. You’re making a roux, and the lighter the roux, the greater the thickening power. So if you see it browning, you’re definitely done.

Gradually whisk in the hot liquid from the stew, and keep whisking until it’s smooth and bubbling. Remove from heat, and stir thoroughly into the contents of the slow cooker. Re-lid and allow to bubble along for another 10-20 minutes.

*For a thick gravy, I find that a ratio of 1:1:1 (butter, flour, hot liquid) works pretty well. If you don’t think you have anywhere close to four cups of hot liquid total in the slow-cooker by the end, adjust the butter/flour amounts downward as well. Or, cook the roux until it darkens somewhat. That will cause it to have less thickening power and will also add a bit of a nutty flavor. You can also make a thinner gravy by adjusting in similar ways.

In case you’re curious, this is what we were making (roughly): First, we drained and rinsed the contents of a can of cannellini beans (white kidney beans)—the 14 oz size. Most similar types of beans would substitute just fine. We spread them out over the bottom of the slow-cooker, then added half of a 28 oz can of fire-roasted crushed tomatoes. We put the slab of meat over that, salted it, and peppered it. We covered it with the rest of the crushed tomatoes, then surrounded it with an assortment of chopped veggies (bell peppers, broccoli, portobello mushroom—that sort of stuff). I spooned maybe a cup of homemade chicken broth overtop, and then we set it on low and let it go for about 9 hours before doing the above thickening routine to it. I think that’s pretty much all of it, although it’s possible I’ve forgotten something.

Goes great with homemade chile-cheese biscuits!

NOTE for holiday shoppers: See our 2012 holiday gift guide for cooks!

I loooove pizza. But the price adds up, much of it is really greasy, and it’s hard to find one with the perfect crispy thin crust. You can make your own to fix most of these problems, but many people find the idea daunting. Making pizza from scratch is actually pretty easy. But some nights you just want it to take 20 minutes, or do it on the spur of the moment, and that’s when this comes in handy.

Lavash bread: Much of the secret is the choice of crust. I’ve tried various pre-made crusts and doughs, and the best thing I’ve ever found is something that isn’t marketed as pizza crust at all—it’s a Middle Eastern flatbread. It cooks up crispy and thin, which is hard to manage at home.

So. Preheat your oven to about, say, 400 F. Grab a heavy sheet tray, or whatever’s on hand. Slap some parchment paper on there and spray a light bit of cooking oil on to make sure the bread doesn’t stick.

Put a round of lavash on the parchment paper. Yep, it’s already cooked, not dough. That’s okay. Lightly brush or spray it with oil—this helps to protect the bread from getting soaked by the toppings. Olive oil is nice but not necessary.

Top the round with whatever toppings you like on your pizza, leaving about an inch of space around the edges. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the crust is browning and crispy, the cheese (if any) is melted, etc.

Toppings:

When it comes to cheeses, you’ll want a big pile of shreds (they’ll melt down a lot). I like freshly grated monterey jack or cheddar, maybe some mozzarella slices, and/or a scattering of parmesan (good parmesan should be used in moderation and always with other cheeses—it has a strong flavor). Another option is slices of marinated fresh mozzarella—then you can use the seasoned oil left over to brush on the crust and/or dip bread into.

As for tomatoes, you have options. If you want to use fresh tomatoes, try slicing or dicing them, then salt lightly and place in a colander or strainer for 20-30 minutes to remove some of the water. One of my favorite options is part of a can of crushed fire-roasted tomatoes. Something I do when I get super-ripe grape tomatoes from the farmer’s market that won’t last is split them, season them, oven-roast them, then refrigerate them. This way you can drain some when you need them during the week and use them on pizza or pasta.

Cheese pizza: Spread some tomatoes (see above) on the bread, then top with shredded cheeses.

Red clam pizza: Rinse and drain a can of boiled baby clams (good source of iron, by the way!). Spread those tomatoes on the bread again, top with clams, top with cheeses, and bake.

Basil-mozzarella pizza: Top with tomato, slices of mozzarella, and whole basil leaves. Bake. (This is a great place to use that marinated mozzarella).

Chorizo pizza: Top with tomato, mixed shredded cheeses, and slices of chorizo (or crumbled chorizo) that you’ve pre-browned on the stovetop and drained.

You should be able to go from there! Remember, it’s as easy as:

• Lavash bread, brushed or sprayed with oil
• Toppings
• Bake!

Puff Pastry

In this case, a package of frozen puff pastry will do just fine. Thaw according to package directions. Cut into squares, about 2 or 3 inches on a side. Lay out on a parchment-lined sheet pan and bake at 350 until golden-brown. (We ended up baking for 20 minutes, rotating the pan to evenly brown the pastry, then baking roughly another 10 minutes.) Actual time/temp necessary may depend on your oven and pastry; when in doubt, go by package directions and check it regularly while it’s in the oven. Allow to cool completely.

White Chocolate Pudding

• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 cups milk
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 (3.5 oz) bars Green & Black’s vanilla white chocolate bars*, broken into small pieces

Whisk the cornstarch into the 1/2 cup milk, then whisk in the two egg yolks. Set aside.

Place the 2 cups milk in a saucepan with the pinch of salt and the 2T sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.

As soon as the milk comes to a boil, whisk a spoonful of it into the cornstarch and egg mixture to temper it, then pour that back into the milk. Continue to cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens, about one minute.

Remove from heat. Add the vanilla and the butter. Whisk until the butter has melted in.

Add the white chocolate pieces. Whisk until smooth.

Allow to sit at room temp until cool; refrigerate until chilled (at least two hours; overnight is fine).

*Of course you can use any brand of white chocolate you want. I mention G&B’s because it’s the one brand I’ve found that has a totally smooth, buttery, non-chalky taste.

Whipped Cream

Fetch a pint of heavy cream (nothing beats chilled local farm cream) and beat in a mixer set on high until stiff peaks form.

Raspberries

Wash and sort through roughly 4 cups of fresh raspberries.

Assembly

Option 1: Parfait Cut, tear, or crumble the puff pastry into small pieces. Layer all of the parts of the recipe at least twice over in serving glasses (pastry, pudding, raspberries, whipped cream). Serve immediately, before the pastry gets soggy.

Option 2: Shells Instead of buying a sheet of puff pastry, buy packaged puff pastry shells (Pepperidge Farm makes some nice ones) and bake according to package directions. Fill with pudding, top with whipped cream, and scatter raspberries around them.

Option 3: Individual bowls This is an easy, yummy option, and it still looks great (photos below). Pool some pudding in the bottom of a bowl. Top with a dollop of whipped cream. Place a handful of raspberries to one side of the cream, and stick a puff pastry square on another side. Voila!

Pudding and Whipped Cream

White Chocolate-Raspberry Decadence

• Two pie crusts, prebaked and cooled*
• Two one-pound packages of ripe strawberries
• Two tablespoons sugar
• Two tablespoons fruit-flavored liqueur, such as Chambord or Grand Marnier, optional
• One pint heavy cream
• One packet gelatin
• One 8oz package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar

Wash, hull, and chop the strawberries. Mash lightly with the two tablespoons sugar and the liqueur, if using, and set aside. (A potato masher is useful for this. You don’t want to make jam—you just want to release the juices a bit.)

Measure out 3/4 cup of the heavy cream. Put two tablespoons of that in a bowl and sprinkle the packet of gelatin overtop to soften. Scald the remainder of the 3/4 cup and then add slowly to the gelatin mixture, whisking until the gelatin is dissolved.

Beat the remaining 1 1/4 cups heavy cream until stiff peaks form.

Separately, beat the 1/4 cup sugar into the softened cream cheese until smooth. Gradually beat the gelatin and cream mixture into the cream cheese until smooth.

Stir the strawberries into the cream cheese mixture, then fold in the whipped cream. Spoon into the pie shells and refrigerate for several hours.

*Most such recipes would use a graham cracker crust. I prefer a regular flour-based crust, because it gives the pie a shortcake flavor. Use your favorite recipe or a good quality prepackaged crust.

As you can see from the (not entirely great) photo below, the pie still has a fairly soft texture. I only wanted to add enough gelatin to give it a bit of shape; I still wanted to retain a cloud-like softness.

As for how it came out? Oh. Wow. Let’s just say I’d better not make it too often or I’d eat nothing but pie.

Strawberries and Cream Pie

Gingersnap Crust

• Roughly 2 cups of gingersnap crumbs. I like the Mi-Del brand, pulverized in a food processor.
• 4 T (1/2 stick) butter, melted

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Mix crumbs and melted butter thoroughly, then press into a lightly greased pie plate. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the crust is lightly browned and smells of ginger. Cool until room temp, or chill briefly in the refrigerator or freezer.

Lemon Filling

• two 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened at room temperature*
• one can of sweetened condensed milk
• juice and zest of two Meyer lemons**
• one teaspoon regular lemon juice

Use a mixer to thoroughly blend the cream cheese and condensed milk. Then blend in the lemon juices and zest. Pour into the pie shell, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for a couple of hours. Serve.

*Neufchatel (1/3 less fat cream cheese) does work in place of cream cheese, although the filling won’t be quite as firm. If you use Neufchatel then you won’t need to pre-soften the cream cheese. I actually prefer the soft, pudding-like texture, however.

**If you don’t have Meyer lemons, which are sweeter and less tart than regular lemons (hence the addition of a small amount of regular lemon juice), use the juice of two regular lemons and the zest of one, and leave out the extra teaspoon of juice.

Minimalist Blueberry Crumble

• 4 cups blueberries
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons agave nectar (or honey, maple syrup, or sugar—agave has a lower glycemic index); you might have to adjust this depending on how sweet your berries are
• 1/4 cup whole wheat or white whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup powdered honey or granulated maple syrup, or 1/3 cup brown sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted*

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Stir the blueberries, lemon juice, and agave nectar together. Pour into a greased 8 x 8 inch pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, oats, and pecans. Add the melted butter and mix with a fork until thoroughly combined. Scatter across the top of the blueberries.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and the blueberries are bubbly. Cool for at least 5 minutes and enjoy!

If you feel the need to add ice cream when this is hot out of the oven, I recommend Breyers French Vanilla. It has about half the sugar of other good-quality ice creams I’ve tried, and it’s really good.

*This amount of butter is the bare minimum I could use and get the whole topping moistened. If your amounts are slightly off and your mix seems dry, add another tablespoon of melted butter.