Cooking with Flour: Great Eats from the Flour Cookbook by Joanne Chang

For my birthday a few years back, my present was a loaf of focaccia from Joanne Chang's Flour Bakery in the South End. To most people that might seem like a, well, lame present. But I was thrilled. A twenty five minute drive into Boston isn't quite worth it on weekend mornings. Instead, I had a perfect loaf in my freezer, ready to be made into warm panini and grilled cheese sandwiches. Other mornings we just slathered the bread with Nutella and were in breakfast heaven. Thus began my obsession with Flour. And that love has transferred to my two sons who know the bakery by name and adore going there after trips the Children's Museum.

I eagerly anticipated the publication of Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe, and enjoyed the chance to attend the celebratory party at the Flour Bakery in Cambridge. Then, two days later, a package showed up on my doorstep: a copy of the cookbook from the publisher. That night my sons and I used an entire box of sticky notes marking the recipes we couldn't wait to try.

There are a number of aspects about this book that I appreciate. First, it is challenging for a baking book to walk the line between being clear enough for inexperienced bakers and captivating for someone who bakes regularly. Joanne Chang does it by offering just enough direction to guide new bakers and use techniques to interest a seasoned cook. Though I have baked for most of my life, I have never heard of "fraisage", thought about the power of creme fraiche or brushed butter on already baked biscuits. Anyone could easily bake fantastic cookies by following her just explicit enough directions. The introductions to the recipes provide context that makes the book personal and interesting. At the same time, the book doesn't read like an advertisement for Flour.

This is definitely not a low-fat, low-cholesterol cookbook and unapologetically so. With the exception of the Heart-Healthy Dried Fruit Scones, these are treats to have on occasion. But when you do, you will be glad you indulged, for example, with the scallion-cheddar scones above!

Ironically, I still haven't made it to the focaccia, though it is next on my list. I also hope to make the Banana Bread, Brioche au Chocolat; Rosemary Shortbread; Nutmeg-Spice Cake with Creamy Rum Buttercream; Deep, Dark, Spicy Gingerbread with Coffee Glaze; Brown Sugar Popovers and Parmesan and Black Pepper Whole-Wheat Focaccia. My sons just want me to bake the Chocolate Cupcakes (for the recipe, click here!) and Blueberry Muffins!

Here, though, is the run-down from this week:

Apple Snacking Cake: My sons and I transformed these into delicious muffins, perfect with fresh from the orchard apples. The recipe was perfect with my toddler and pre-schooler as sous-chefs. They dumped in the ingredients, mixed, stirred and placed raisins in the muffin tins. And they gobbled the warm muffins up, grinning completely.

Pumpkin Muffins: I was a bit too lazy to candy my pumpkin seeds, but these had the same sweet, rich quality as our apple muffins above.

Granola-I regularly make granola and love a new recipe. This one is heavy on the honey, which I enjoyed. However, at 350 degrees, mine started to burn. Once I lowered the heat to 300, it roasted to a toasty brown and is delicious. For a nice write up and the recipe, you can check out this post at Delicious Dishing.

Chocolate Chip Cookies-As Joanne Chang writes, these are a twist on the Toll House recipe and are a thinner style. My kids adored them. Next time I would add a bit more salt. I also definitely recommend following Chang's advice to let the batter sit for overnight in the frig.

Homemade Oreos-I love the cookie part of this recipe. It has both sweet and salty notes and isn't too rich. I am not a buttercream fan, myself, but friends ate these quickly, declaring them, "fantastic."

Double-Chocolate Cookies -this unusual recipe has you grate unsweetened chocolate into a rich batter of semisweet chocolate. The result, a beautifully balanced, not too sweet cookie perfect for chocoholics.

Cheddar-Scallion Scones-These alone are a great reason to buy the book. While, sure, you can go to Flour to taste them, in minutes you get your own warm version fresh out of the oven. Not only are they ridiculously simple, but they freeze beautifully. I can also envision swapping out the cheddar and scallion for, say, ham and gruyere. My friend felt ambivalent about the addition of cumin, but I think it created a more complex taste.

Buttermilk Biscuits with Parsley and Sage-these were just as easy as the scones. (In fact, we whipped both up simultaneously). Again, they are so good still hot and topped with melted butter and parsley. I felt that the sage was a bit overpowering, but could see these at the Thanksgiving table with turkey. I also hope to make the recipe without the sage for my sons to eat with eggs.

You can purchase the cookbook (and try tasty treats) at The Flour Bakery and Cafe: 12 Farnsworth St, Boston; 1595 Washington Street, Boston or 190 Mass. Ave in Cambridge or you can purchase it at your local bookstore.

Blueberry Whole Wheat Muffins

Muffins continue to be high on the request list at our house. And, after our whole wheat banana muffin and corn muffin success, I have continued to try to create moist, healthy muffins. Frozen blueberries are great to keep in the freezer, as they are so much less expensive than fresh ones. And, my kids still love them. I also always have buttermilk since pancakes are common here, too. And the buttermilk is the secret to keeping these tasty and low in fat. Eat these muffins fresh or freeze them, as they don't keep as well due to the low fat content. A friend also suggested throwing in a mashed banana, too.

Adapted from the Joy of Cooking

Blueberry Buttermilk Whole Wheat Muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour and 1 1/2 cups white flour, mixed together

1/2 cup white sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

zest of one lemon

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 cup buttermilk

2/3 cup oil

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups frozen or fresh blueberries (no need to defrost!)

Preheat the oven to 375 and grease your muffin tins. Mix the dry ingredients together. Mix the wet ingredients together, along with the lemon zest. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together. Gently fold in the blueberries so your batter doesn't take on a grey tinge. Bake about 20 minutes. Cool in the tins for a few minutes, and then take out of the tins and cool on racks.

12 muffins

A Bread Worth Seeking Out: When Pigs Fly, Brookline

Excuse me, but is that hummos IN your bread? Is that loaf so redolent of chocolate that it is almost pitch black? And are those slices of candied ginger AND mango AND pineapple baked into the sesame filled crumb? I see. Yes, these are all examples of the delicious loaves that you will find in a completely unassuming small store on Beacon Street in Coolidge Corner, Brookline.

When Pigs Fly is based out of a kitchen in York, Maine. I first encountered their bread this summer at the small bakery that is attached to that kitchen. I walked in and intended to buy one loaf. I bought 5. And now, to my great joy, there is an outpost just a few miles away.
Their bread is hard to resist for a few reasons. First the ingredients are so pure and come in such unusual combinations that it is hard to refuse. How can you say, "No" to yeasted breads stuffed with cranberries, huge chunks of pistachio nuts and orange? Is it possible to skip over the version with bananas, pecans and maple that is crusted in a layer of caramelized sugar?
Second, you can try a slice of any bread which means you are guaranteed to be happy with any loaf you buy. Finally, they freeze beautifully. You can eat any of them toasted for breakfast, but they also suggest making, say, the chocolate bread into French Toast (!) or using the Mango, Pineapple, Ginger, Sesame for turkey sandwiches. These aren't cheap at about $6.00 a loaf, but they are so dense and full of good things that it seems worth it. For the record, they also offer simpler styles such as sourdough and whole wheat, but I can never make it past the unique versions.

And, if you can't make it Brookline, they now sell their breads at a range of Farmer's Markets, such as the SOWA market.

When Pigs Fly, 1378A Beacon St, (Coolidge Corner) Brookline, MA, 617-232-1077

Getting Ready for a Taste to Help the Greater Boston Food Bank

I don't typically blog about an event in advance. But since this one is in support of a fabulous organization, the Greater Boston Food Bank, I thought I would just spread the word. On Monday, November 1st, many of Boston's top chefs will offer tastes of their food, sponsored by Boston Magazine. (Full disclosure, they are kind enough to be treating me to a ticket.) We are talking Tim Cushman of O Ya (one of my most memorable meals!), my new favorite Chef Vittorio Ettore of Bistro 5 and Chef Colin Lynch of the acclaimed Menton. Tickets aren't cheap: $95.00/person, but it is for a good cause and will certainly be delicious.

For more information about the event, just click here.

Boston Magazine's Taste: Monday, November 1, from 7 to 9:30 at 1 Marina Park Drive at the Fan Pier.

For more information about the Greater Boston Food Bank, click here.

Two More Uses for a Jack-o-Lantern: Pumpkin Pancakes and Yeasted Pumpkin Chocolate Bread

Much to my children's chigrin, the day after Halloween, their pumpkins became our next meal. I cut the pumpkins in half, seeded them and roasted the halves skin side down for about 45 minutes for 450 minutes with about one inch of water. I then took the pumpkin and froze it in bags each filled with one cup each.

When we were hungry, I quickly defrosted the pumpkin in hot water. I then mixed it into some homemade pancake batter along with freshly grated nutmeg.

Then, inspired by the yeasted pumpkin bread at When Pigs Fly and a recipe on the King Arthur site for "Cinnamon-Swirl Pumpkin Rolls," I tried a new twist.

I used the King Arthur recipe for "Yeasted Pumpkin Bread" but made 3 significant changes. First, I substituted King Arthur's White Whole Wheat flour for half of the white flour to make it a bit healthier. Next, once the dough was ready, I put it in a bowl for an overnight rise in the refrigerator. The next morning, I took it out and rolled it on a floured countertop. I spread a mixture of cinnamon and sugar on top, rolled it up and cut it into rolls. I then let this rise for another hour. I popped it in the oven and cooked them at 375 for about 30 minutes. When I took them out, I spread them with a powdered sugar-milk glaze.

The verdict: my friend thought they were a bit dense, but the kids loved them spread with thick layers of cream cheese. I enjoyed them topped with sharp cheddar, though the cream cheese was deliciously decadent. I appreciated that they were relatively healthy and easy. While I am not of the "hide the vegetables" in the food sort, my kids were gobbling up squash and whole wheat flour. Yay.

Chocolate is Good: Hotel Chocolat

The other day the doorbell rang. Neither a package of LEGOs for my kids, nor flowers for me, but something far more delicious: two chocolates from Hotel Chocolat. The company had e-mailed me to make me aware of their two stores in the Boston area. And, thus, arrived two chocolate gifts in a refrigerated delivery truck.

I received two things: the Dark Chocolate Vampire and the Dark Chocolate Truffle Tree. The verdict? First, the dark chocolate was very good. Not to sweet. Smooth. Fruity. I can't imagine any dark chocolate lover not being happy to receive it. The Tree was full of cranberries, almonds, and praline truffles. In other words, it was far richer and sweeter. Put it this way: it was a bit easier to refrain from devouring it, though the dark chocolate was still excellent. In fact, each time I tried the chocolate (you know, to make sure this blog was accurate), I was struck by how purely chocolately and delicious it was. The chocolate itself is grown at Rabot Estate in St. Lucia. What is interesting is that the company prides itself on creating and following an "Engaged Ethics Policy." You can read more details here, but essentially, the company tries to make sure that farmers get a good wage for their products.

Hotel Chocolat offers a wide range of chocolates and products. The best way to learn more? Check out their 2 locations in Massachusetts: On Newbury Street and at the Chestnut Hill Mall.
You can also check out their website. In the meantime, I will be busy sitting here. Eating chocolate.

The Versatile Squash Soup

Despite the fact that I rarely make the same thing twice, I have made this soup 5 times in the last few weeks. It is ridiculously easy to make. It satisfies those cool fall cravings. It pleases people who are vegan, vegetarian, lactose-intolerant or just want a simple and healthy meal. But you can also gussy it up with curry powder or pasta or even slices of browned sausage. You can eat it cold, warm or hot. It even freezes beautifully.
Versatile Squash Soup

Olive oil
1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into small dice
2 shallots, chopped
2 apples, peeled and cut into small dice
4 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper

Optional: extra virgin olive oil, curry powder, nutmeg, sausage, aleppo or red pepper

Heat enough olive oil to coat the bottom of a large pot over medium heat. Saute the shallots for 4-5 minutes until they soften. Add the apples and saute for another few minutes. Then add the squash. Saute just to mix in with the shallots and apples. Pour the chicken stock over the mixture. When the soup boils, turn the heat down to low and simmer until the squash is tender. Carefully puree with an immersion blender.

Now, try the soup. You can keep it simple by adding salt and pepper. Drizzle olive oil on top. Add pasta to make it more substantial. I like slices of sausage that have been crisped in a skillet for protein. Curry powder changes the flavor completely, and would be perfect with any bread or a bowl of basmati rice. Last twist-make the same soup with pears.