Yen Family Site

Roasted Acorn Squash with Chile Vinaigrette

Eat more winter squash, it's very good for you.  The vinaigrette would be good with any type of roasted squash or sweet potatoes. 
From Gourmet magazine, October 2006.

Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients
2 (1 1/2 - to 1 3/4-lb) acorn squash
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, or to taste
1 to 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh hot red chile, including seeds
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
 
Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 450°F. Halve squash lengthwise, then cut off and discard stem ends. Scoop out seeds and cut squash lengthwise into 1-inch-wide wedges. Toss squash with black pepper, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons oil in a bowl, then arrange, cut sides down, in 2 large shallow baking pans. Roast squash, switching position of pans halfway through roasting, until squash is tender and undersides of wedges are golden brown, 25 to 35 minutes.

While squash roasts, mince garlic and mash to a paste with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Transfer paste to a small bowl and whisk in lime juice, chile (to taste), cilantro, and remaining 1/4 cup oil until combined. Transfer squash, browned sides up, to a platter and drizzle with vinaigrette.

Lemon Bars
These are great!  I'm thinking of making a lime and coconut variation... 

Adapted from the Cooks Illustrated "Perfect Lemon Bars" recipe.  Makes about two dozen 1 1/2- to 2-inch squares. 

The Crust
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar, plus extra to decorate finished bars
1/4 cup cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon table salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), at very cool room temperature, cut into 1-inch pieces, plus extra for greasing pan

Lemon Filling
4 large eggs , beaten lightly
1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest from 2 large lemons
2/3 cup lemon juice from 3 to 4 large lemons, strained
1/3 cup whole milk
1/8 teaspoon table salt 

1. For the crust: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 13-by-9-inch baking dish and line with one sheet parchment or wax paper. Dot paper with butter, then lay second sheet crosswise over it with the edges hanging over the rim (you will use the edges to lift it out of the pan after cooked).

2. Pulse flour, confectioners’ sugar, cornstarch, and salt in food processor workbowl fitted with steel blade. Add butter and process to blend, 8 to 10 seconds, then pulse until mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse meal, about three 1-second bursts. (To do this by hand, mix flour, confectioners’ sugar, cornstarch, and salt in medium bowl. Freeze butter and grate it on large holes of box grater into flour mixture. Toss butter pieces to coat. Rub pieces between your fingers for a minute, until flour turns pale yellow and coarse.) Sprinkle mixture into lined pan and press firmly with fingers into even, 1/4-inch layer over entire pan bottom and about 1/2-inch up sides. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, then bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

3. For the filling: Meanwhile, whisk eggs, sugar, and flour in medium bowl, then stir in lemon zest, juice, milk, and salt to blend well.

4. To finish the bars: Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Stir filling mixture to reblend; pour into warm crust. Bake until filling feels firm when touched lightly, about 20 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack; cool to near room temperature, at least 30 minutes. Transfer to cutting board and cut into serving-size bars, wiping knife or pizza cutter clean between cuts, as necessary. Sieve confectioners’ sugar over bars, if desired.

100% Whole Wheat Bread
* Adapted from Laurel's Bread Book

Yield: one loaf

Ingredients:

3 cups (450 grams) whole wheat bread flour
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon table salt or fine sea salt
1/3 cup (80 ml) plain yogurt
2/3 cup + 6 T (230 ml) warm water
2 Tablespoons (30 ml) oil
1 1/2 Tablespoons (25 ml) honey

If using food processor:

In the work bowl, pulse together the flour and yeast until well combined.  In a separate bowl, whisk together salt, yogurt, water, oil, and honey.  Add all of wet mixture into the work bowl and pulse until the dough just forms into a ball.  Let rest 15 minutes. 

Process the dough for about 45 seconds.  If the dough ball doesn't clean the sides of the work bowl, add a tablespoon of flour until it does.  If the dough doesn't come together into a ball, add water one tablespoon at a time until it does.  Knead on a floured or oiled surfaced for a minute or two.  Dough should be soft and a bit tacky but not sticky.   

If using mixer:

In the mixer bowl, combine 2/3 of the flour and all of the yeast.  Mix with the paddle attachment until well blended.  In a separate bowl, whisk together salt, yogurt, water, oil, and honey.  Add all of wet mixture into the mixer bowl and beat on a high speed for a few minutes.  The batter should seem very stretchy.  Add the remaining flour, switch to the dough hook, and mix on the lowest speed until the dough comes together into a ball.  Let the dough rest for 15 minutes.  On the lowest speed, knead for 5-6 minutes.  Remove from the bowl and knead on a floured or oiled surfaced for about 30 seconds.  Dough should be soft and a bit tacky but not sticky.   

Shape the dough into a ball, put into large oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 90 minutes to two hours.  Or, before rising, put into the refrigerator overnight.  The next day, let it come to room temperature (takes about 2 hours) and let rise until doubled in bulk.

Lightly punch down the dough and shape again into a taught ball.  Let rest, covered, for 15 minutes. 

To shape, flatten ball to about 1/2 inch thickness and about the width of the loaf pan.  Roll up tightly like a jelly roll, lengthwise.  Put into a greased loaf pan, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until the dough rises over the lip of the pan (about 60-90 minutes).  Preheat oven to 350 and bake for 40 minutes, rotating after 20 minutes. 

Date Squares
Yield: about 24 - 2in x 2in squares.

You will need a 9in x 13in baking pan, parchment paper, and a food processor.

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups (600 grams) pitted dates
1 1/2 cups (360 ml/g) water
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups (300 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups (210 grams) whole wheat (or all purpose) flour
1/2 cup honey, maple syrup, agave nectar, or brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon + big pinch table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (230 grams) butter, unsalted, chilled and cut into cubes

Date Filling: Place the dates and water in a medium saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the dates are soft and have absorbed most of the water (about 5 - 10 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Let cool to room temperature and then puree in your food processor until smooth. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Butter (or use a non stick cooking spray) an 9 x 13 inch pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Set aside.

Oatmeal Crust: In the bowl of your food processor, place the oats, flour, sweetener, baking soda, salt and ground cinnamon. Pulse just to combine. Then add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Press 2/3 of the mixture into the base of the prepared pan.

Spread the date filling evenly over the oatmeal crust. Sprinkle the remaining dough evenly over the top of the dates and press down lightly. Bake for about 30 - 40 minutes or until golden brown. Place on a wire rack to cool. Once the squares have cooled, cover the pan with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator at least one hour or until firm enough to cut easily into squares.

These will keep, covered, in the refrigerator up to a week.

Blueberry Banana Muffins with Cinnamon Crumble Topping

Yield: 12 muffins

For muffins:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 3 medium bananas)
2 large eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup honey
¼ cup water
1 - 1/2 cups dried blueberries

For topping:
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 ½ Tbsp. packed dark brown sugar

Put the blueberries in a bowl, cover them with boiling water and let plump for about 20 minutes.  Drain and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Butter a 12-cup regular size muffin tin or line with cupcake wrappers.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the banana, eggs, oil, honey, and water. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and stir well. Gently fold in the blueberries.  Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups.

In a small bowl, mix together the topping ingredients.  Sprinkle them evenly over each muffin.

Bake the muffins until a tester inserted into its center comes out clean, about 20-30 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then carefully remove each muffin from the pan, taking care not to dislodge the topping. Cool completely.

Chiffon Cupcakes (adapted from Good Eats recipe)
Yield: 12

1 1/2 cups all-purpose or cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup sugar (divided into 1/2 cup and 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Place paper liners into 2 (12-cup) muffin tins and set aside.  If you prefer, set 12 ovenproof coffee mugs on a half sheet pan and set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.  Place the egg yolks and 5 ounces of the sugar into the bowl of  a stand mixer and whisk on high for 2 minutes or until the mixture becomes pale yellow and 'ribbons' when lifted. Add the water, vegetable oil and vanilla and whisk to combine. Add the dry ingredients and whisk just to combine. Transfer the batter to a mixing bowl while you whisk the egg whites.

Place the egg whites and cream of tartar into a clean bowl and whisk on high using the whisk attachment, until it becomes foamy. Decrease the speed to low and gradually add the remaining ounce of sugar. Increase speed to high and continue whisking until stiff peaks form, approximately 2 minutes.  Transfer 1/3 of the egg whites to the batter and whisk until well combined. Add the remaining egg whites and fold in gently.

Transfer batter into prepared muffin tins or coffee mugs, evenly dividing the batter between the cups. Place both muffin tins on the middle rack of the oven or, if using mugs, place all of them on a half sheet pan and set on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake for 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean or the cupcakes reach an internal temperature of 205 to 210 degrees F.   Remove from the oven to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.

White Chocolate & Lime Cookies

Yield: 1 dozen (or more) cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup sugar
Zest of one lime, finely chopped
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons heavy cream (or one egg yolk)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup white chocolate chips
1/4 cup pine nuts

In a dry skillet on medium heat, toast the pine nuts until lightly golden brown.  Remove nuts to a small bowl and set aside.

In a bowl, whisk together oil, sugar, lime zest, lime juice, vanilla extract, and heavy cream (or egg yolk).

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Add oil/sugar mixture to the flour mixture and mix gently until just combined.  Add the chocolate chips and nuts and fold in until they are evenly distributed.  Refrigerate cookie dough for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, preheat oven to 350F degrees and prepare cookie sheet with silicone mat or parchment paper.

To shape: take a heaping tablespoon of dough, roll into a ball and place on the cookie sheet.  Lightly press down to flatten slightly. 

Bake for about 10-12 minutes, rotating pan half-way through.  Let sit on the pan for a few minutes before removing to racks to cool.

Lemon and Poppy Seed Olive Oil Cookies

I think I made up this recipe but, honestly, I don't really remember.  Use a good extra virgin olive oil, though not one that is too bitter or grassy.  I like using French olive oil for this recipe because they tend to have a round, buttery flavor.

Yield: about 16 cookies.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon poppy seeds (toasted in a dry skillet for a few minutes)
1 pinch salt
1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs (or egg substitute — see note below)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 lemon, zest of, finely grated
2 tablespoons sugar (for dusting)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, poppy seeds, salt, and 1/3 cup sugar) and whisk together.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs (or egg substitute) with the olive oil, lemon juice, and lemon rind.
4. Use a rubber spatula to stir the liquid mixture into the dry one, just until well combined; if the mixture is a little dry, add a little more lemon juice.
5. Put a few tablespoons of sugar in a flat dish.
6. Pinch off pieces of dough (about the size of a rounded teaspoon) and roll gently into balls. Put balls into sugar and press down slightly to make a thick disk.
7. Place sugared cookie disk onto a lightly oiled cookie sheet and bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until lightly browned.
8. Cool a couple of minutes on the cookie sheet, then remove the cookies to a rack to cool further.

Note: Instead of eggs, use 2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds (i.e., flax meal) simmered in 6 tablespoons of water for a few minutes until thick, like the consistency of raw eggs.

Flourless (Chickpea) Chocolate Cake

This is another flourless chocolate cake recipe that uses chickpeas (oh yes!).   Don't worry, it's not like a baked chocolate hummus :).  You won't notice the chickpeas at all, I promise.

1 can chickpeas (19 oz), rinsed and drained
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
3/4 cup honey (or 1 cup brown sugar)
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp vanilla extract

In food processor or blender, blend chickpeas and oil until very, very smooth.  Add eggs, one at a time and blend well.  Add honey (or sugar) and vanilla extract and process for another minute or until well combined.  The mixture at this point should be absolutely smooth.

Into a separate bowl, sift cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and blend until smooth.    

Bake in a 9" round cake pan in 350 degree oven about 35-45 minutes.  Check after 35 minutes, you don't want to overbake it.   Refrigerator overnight and then serve. 

Variations: 

Add 1 tablespoon of rum or add 1 tablespoon orange liqueur like Grand Marnier and the zest of one orange.

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Cooks Illustrated

I'm into browned butter these days, on popcorn, on sauteed green beans, in just about any recipe that calls for melted/cooked butter.  I found this recipe on the Cooks Illustrated website but I didn't have brown sugar so I used honey and, since I was already making substitutions, I thought I would go a little further and use browned butter and add some wheat germ.  They turned out quite good.  So here's my version:

Makes 1 1/2 dozen 3-inch cookies

Ingredients:

2 1/8    cups bleached all-purpose flour (about 10 1/2 ounces)
1/2        teaspoon table salt
1/2        teaspoon baking soda
12         tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
1/2        cup honey
1/2        cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
1            large egg
1            large egg yolk
1            tablespoon vanilla extract
1 - 2      cups chocolate chips or chunks (semi or bittersweet)
1/4        cup wheat germ (optional but hey, who says cookies can't contain at least a modicum of nutritious ingredients?)
1            cup toasted, chopped nuts (optional)

Instructions: 

1.  Prepare two cookie sheets (preferably lipless) with parchment paper or silicone baking liners.  Don't preheat the oven just yet.  Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions.

2.  In a small sauce pan, heat the butter over medium heat until it turns a golden brown (watch out that it doesn't burn!).  Set aside to cool. 

3.  Whisk flour, salt, wheat germ (if using), and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

4.  Either by hand or with electric mixer, mix butter, sugar and honey until thoroughly blended. Mix in egg, yolk, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients; mix until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts (if using).

5.  Put cookie dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, preheat oven to 325 F. 

To shape: Form scant 1/4 cup dough into ball. Holding dough ball using fingertips of both hands, pull into two equal halves. Rotate halves ninety degrees and, with jagged surfaces exposed, join halves together at their base, again forming a single cookie, being careful not to smooth dough’s uneven surface. Place formed dough onto one of two cookie sheets, about nine dough balls per sheet. Smaller cookie sheets can be used, but fewer cookies can be baked at one time and baking time may need to be adjusted. (Dough can be refrigerated up to 2 days or frozen up to 1 month—shaped or not.)

6. Bake, reversing cookie sheets’ positions halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes (start checking at 13 minutes). (Frozen dough requires an extra 1 to 2 minutes baking time.) Cool cookies on cookie sheets. Serve or store in airtight container.

You can also freeze the cookies after baking.